Land Before Time: The Mysterious Island Retold
by Elise Lowing
Summary: After a locust invasion, Littlefoot, Aylene, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike are forced to leave the Great Valley in search for food. Together, they will have to face the dangers of the Mysterious Beyond, both on land and sea. Luckily for them, they will soon discover they have some unexpected friends and allies.
1. Prologue

**Land Before Time: The Mysterious Island Retold**

**Prologue**

**The Gang is Back!**

**After a locust invasion, Littlefoot, Aylene, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike are forced to leave the Great Valley in search for food. Together, they will have to face the dangers of the Mysterious Beyond, both on land and sea. Luckily for them, they will soon discover they have some unexpected friends and allies.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Land Before Time; I am merely exploring an alternate story.**

* * *

_Many years ago…_

_On top of a large plateau that overlooked a wonderful stretch of land, a large adult male biter stood tall with pride and looked down at his son, who was just a little older than a newborn hatchling. The younger biter looked out at the field with wonder as he watched all the leaf-eaters, both large and small, roam around._

_"So you see, Strongfang," he said in a strong, wise voice, "this world exists in a delicate balance. We biters cannot live without the leaf-eaters, and they cannot live without us. We hunt them only in order to survive. And in doing so, we also prevent them from a horrible fate of starvation. Do you understand?"_

_Young Strongfang looked down at the ground for a moment before gazing up at his father._

_"I think so," he replied, "or…at least a little bit. But…leaf-eaters still see us as enemies, right? Is that how the world is supposed to be?"_

_Strongfang's father chuckled a little. He then looked back up at the field and watched the leaf-eaters below wander around aimlessly. Or at least, they looked liked they were wondering around aimlessly from his point of view. For all he knew, they probably knew exactly where they were going and he just couldn't understand their language._

_"I thought the same thing when I was your age," he said to his son. "But I believe that someday, both species will come to understand each other. I can't say when, I can't say how, but I do believe that one day they will come to an understanding."_

* * *

_Present day…_

The memory of that day with his father was the very thing Strongfang was thinking about as he gazed up at the great Night Circle. That day was over a hundred years ago, but he could still clearly remember every word that his father had spoken to him. For years, he carried those words in his heart, repeating them over and over to himself whenever he would go on a hunt, or when he just wanted to remember his father.

Strongfang then looked to his mate, Rena, who was sleeping right beside him. He gave a humble smile as he watched her steadily breathe in and out. She was indeed the most beautiful female biter of his kind that he had ever met, both in appearance and in her nature. The male biter was indeed glad that she chose him during courtship.

Then, Strongfang heard a light groan and felt something small move against his side. He looked over at the little hatchling that was curled up beside him, sleeping peacefully.

Chomper.

That was his son's name. However, his mother or father didn't give that name to him.

One night, just before the little biter had hatched, Red Claw, a prideful and vengeful biter, attacked Strongfang and his mate, Rena. The reason was to get back at Strongfang for calling him a coward by destroying the egg that contained his unborn son. However, during the scuffle, the egg fell over a ledge.

At first, Strongfang thought that the egg had shattered and the future hatchling inside of it had died. However, when he and Rena went down to investigate, they discovered that it had survived the fall. While they were joyful that they could still have a hatchling, they fearfully realized that plant-eaters from the Great Valley had somehow discovered it and brought it back to their home.

And to make matters worse, Strongfang picked up another scent. Only this one wasn't of any dinosaur from this world. It was something else entirely. He had heard rumors that a human had been seen in this world again.

Was it possible that it was the human that the scent belonged to?

Fearing for the life of their hatchling, Strongfang and Rena boldly entered the Great Valley. Not long after their search had begun, they stumbled onto a group of children that consisted of a longneck, threehorn, swimmer, flyer, spiketail, and a creature that the male biter recognized to be a female human.

For a moment, he thought that she was the same human he had seen many years ago. The human's name he remembered to be Elaine. Indeed, the young girl in the Great Valley had the same light brown hair, bright blue eyes , and the stone on a chain around her neck was just like the one Elaine wore. However, when he had managed to corner the girl, he discovered that she was not Elaine. She was her granddaughter.

Her name…was Aylene.

However, as shocking as that was, that wasn't the biggest shock of Strongfang's life. The greatest surprise he could ever hope to expect was that the egg he and Rena thought had been lost or destroyed was saved by that same group of children. And even better, it had hatched into a healthy baby male biter.

Strongfang was sure that the children would've killed his son once he had hatched, or at the very least abandoned him the moment he was born. However, it was the exact opposite. They stayed with him. They took care of him. They even went as far as to protect him. In return, he protected them. It was almost as if they somehow acknowledge him as one of them, and he acknowledged them as his family.

And later, when the family of biters was leaving the Great Valley, Red Claw and his fast biter lackeys ambushed them. Chomper was about to become the vengeful biter's next victim, if it hadn't been for the little human girl. Hiding somewhere nearby, she used her arrows to distract the group of assassins long enough for Strongfang and Rena to counterattack. Although the male biter couldn't see where the girl was shooting from, he felt an odd sense of gratefulness to know that she was close by, and was helping his family to escape.

It was the strangest thing Strongfang had ever seen in his life. Even though the events took place many Bright Circles ago, he could still remember them clearly to this day.

The large biter looked at his son again and smiled. Thanks to those five dinosaurs and one human, little Chomper was given the chance to grow up. Indeed, he had definitely grown since that day, both in size and maturity. He was now about the size of a child of his age should be, his snout was just a little bit longer, and he was starting to show more noticeable muscles in his legs and chest.

However, his greatest trait was his communication skills. In just a matter of days, Chomper was speaking his native language with great fluency. He abandoned his tendency to speak in a broken biter language, and began to use a proper way of speaking and forming sentences.

On top of that, Chomper was also able to speak in the tongue of a leaf-eater.

At first, Strongfang didn't take much notice of this. For a while, whenever Chomper would make strange, grunting sounds, he just assumed it was because the little biter was just being goofy. However, as time went on, he started to notice more and more that Chomper only made those noises whenever the family was getting close to a herd of leaf-eaters.

The day he finally realized that his son was able to speak the language of plant-eaters was when Chomper had wandered off in search of some insects to eat. When Strongfang went to find him, he was surprised to see that he was speaking to a female fast runner. For a while, the male biter just watched from a distance as Chomper and the fast runner carried out a conversation that he couldn't understand. The only way he could tell that they were conversing was by how they were responding to each other. The action weren't random and mindless. They definitely were like how Strongfang would expect from another biter if he were communicating with one.

Even to this day, that revelation of his son's unique gift still amazed him and his mate, Rena.

However, despite the endless pride he felt toward his son, Strongfang also felt a horrible feeling guilt. It wasn't towards Chomper by any means; it was towards himself. There was something very important that he hadn't told the little biter yet. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to tell Chomper about his unfortunate lineage.

The truth was that Strongfang was the brother of the most dangerous biter that ever walked this world: Sharptooth. Also known as "The Walking Terror". Or at least he was until a Gang of Six defeated him. Ironically, that same group of six also turned out to be the ones who saved his son's life.

The reason that Strongfang considered it to be ironic was because they unknowingly save the life of Sharptooth's nephew. If they had known from the start that Chomper was related to the same biter who tried to assassinate them, then they probably wouldn't have saved him. The probably would've left him to die.

Unfortunately, while they didn't know about his lineage, all the other biters in the world did.

As a result, Strongfang and his family had been on the run for days. Everywhere they went, many biters, both big and small, targeted Chomper for the sole reason of killing him, all because he was the nephew of the last "Walking Terror".

The worst part of the situation was that poor Chomper had no idea why he was being hunted. He was still too young to comprehend the reasons behind the biters' attitudes toward him and his family. And it hurt Strongfang every time to see his son so helpless. The last thing he wanted was to see his family hurt. However, ever since Rena chose him to be his mate, and ever since Chomper was born, their lives were altered all because of Strongfang's connection to Sharptooth.

A life of danger was one they were destined to have. Although, while Rena did had a choice in the matter back during the courting season, Chomper was not so lucky. This was a burden he would have to live with for the rest of his life.

Fortunately, Strongfang and his family managed to find refuge on a secluded island in the middle of the Big Water. It rested just a few miles out from the mainland, and was connected by two land paths, each on different sides of the island. The best part of it all was that it had no large predators that could snatch up Chomper at any given moment. During the day, Rena would stay with Chomper while Strongfang would travel back to the mainland to hunt, and bring back whatever he could for the rest of his family.

While he knew they wouldn't be able to stay on the island forever, Strongfang at least planned to live there until Chomper reached his Time of Great Growing. With the island being one of the last places any biter would think to look for them, Chomper would be able to become strong enough to defend himself.

After reflecting on these many things, Strongfang let out a deep breath and looked up at the sky once again.

"Don't worry, son," he whispered. "I'll always be there for you. I promise."

With that solemn promise spoken into the night air, Strongfang wrapped his tail around the slumbering Chomper, as if to create a shield for the hatching. He then lowered his head down and drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 1: Epic Fail

**Epic Fail**

On one late winter Saturday afternoon, Derek sat casually on the couch in the living room with the TV remote in his hand. However, he wasn't clicking on any of the buttons to change the channel or volume, for he was quite content with the nature program he was watching.

It was about the prehistoric Megalodon: the biggest shark that ever lived.

While Derek had very little interest in dinosaurs, he did have a fascination for prehistoric sea creatures, particularly sharks. Just something about the ocean always caught Derek's attention. While he didn't really have an intention to become an oceanographer or something of that nature, he still liked to watch documentaries on sea creatures, modern or prehistoric.

Just then, the front door opened with a loud "CREAK" and a familiar female voice called out:

"I'm home!"

Derek turned his head around to see his younger sister, Aylene, close the front door. She then proceeded to take off her coat, hat and gloves, and hang them up in the closet.

"Hey, sis." Derek said. "How was the museum?"

"It was okay." Aylene replied. "I really enjoyed seeing the gemstone exhibit."

"Did Ken have a good time?" the elder brother smirked.

"Yes, he did," the girl replied with a small sneer. "And don't say, "Did Ken have a good time" like that. He and I are just good friends at the moment."

"Yeah, sure you are." Derek snickered.

"Just drop it, okay?" Aylene glared.

"Whatever," the boy replied.

After Aylene then walked over to the couch and looked up to see what was on the TV screen. Much to her dislike, she looked up just in time to see the giant Megalodon chop down on a poor little prehistoric whale. She winced and gave a pained expression at the sight of it. Although she knew that it was just a computer-generated image, it was still unnerving to see.

It wasn't so much of the predation of it all that disturbed her, it was the seemingly mindless hunger that the Megalodon showed that sent a chill down her spine.

Derek noticed her subtle reaction and turned back towards her.

"Still don't like sharks, huh?" he said.

"I hate sharks." Aylene groaned.

"You hate sharks, but you love orcas." Derek stated. "You know they both feed on sea animals. And orcas play with their food before they eat it. That doesn't bother you though?"

"At least orcas have personality!" the girl said in a glaring tone. "Sharks just swim around like some possess zombie!"

While saying the last statement, Aylene hunched herself over and gave a brief goose-stepping imitation. At the same time, she stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth and made her eyes go cross-eyed for a moment. She looked so silly doing an intentional fail of a zombie impersonation that Derek couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"Just be glad that kind of shark doesn't exist today," he said. "You wouldn't go within five meters of the ocean if it did."

"More like five miles." Aylene grumbled.

"Well, we live in the middle of the country anyway. And I don't think sharks can survive outside of water."

"Well, thank goodness for that."

At that moment, Derek raised the TV remote and hit the power button. In an instant, the television screen went black and the sound coming from it just stopped. The human boy then got up off the couch and stretched his arms.

"So," he yawned, "you going back to your special little world today?"

Aylene simply responded with a smirk. She knew that her brother was just asking that question for the sake of it. He already knew what the answer was.

"You wanna come this time?"

Derek looked back at his sister and gave a smirk of his own.

"Is that a rhetorical question?" he said jokingly.

"Of course," the girl replied in the same tone.

The two siblings shared a small laugh between them. This kind of banter was just the sort that both of them enjoyed doing from time to time. Neither one was trying to trounce the other in an argument like this. It was very neutral.

"Okay then," Derek loosened his shoulders, "let's get ready."

"Okay." Aylene nodded.

With all that said, Derek went downstairs to his room while Aylene went to her room to change. Like many times before, she got out her lime green two-piece swimsuit, black gym shorts, and navy blue sandals. Once she had gotten her outfit on, she got her bow and arrows out from under her bed and placed them on the covers. She then grabbed her blue gym bag and headed to the kitchen. She gathered up a bunch of granola bars, small bags of peanuts, and a variety of spices, and stuffed them into her bag. She took a large water bottle and filled it up to the brim before screwing the lid on.

After she was done in the kitchen, she headed to the laundry room and opened up a large cupboard, revealing a variety of beach towels. Aylene grabbed a large, dark green towel, rolled it up, and stuffed it into her gym bag.

Once she was all packed, she headed back to her room and strapped her quiver around her waist. She then walked over to her desk and pick up a small monocular that Derek gave her as a Christmas present. She smiled at the object for a moment before putting it into her gym bag.

Just as she put her bow over her shoulder, there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"You ready, Sis?" Derek's voice asked from the other side of the door.

"Yeah," Aylene replied, "come in."

A second later, Derek open the door and entered. He was dressed in a red sleeveless with black gym shorts and black sandals. Around his wrists were black sweatbands and on his back was a black gym, bulging from the contents inside it. He had a large quiver of arrows strapped around his waist, and a big longbow over his shoulder.

"You ready?" Aylene asked.

"I'm just waiting on you." Derek replied.

The human girl nodded and grabbed the green Time Stone that was round her neck. She then held it out and said in a strong, clear voice:

**"Portal Open!"**

In an instant, a bright green light shot out of the stone and hit what seemed to be an invisible wall. It then expanded out into an oval gateway. Aylene took her brother's hand and the two them walked through.

The moment they had passed through the dimension rift, the portal closed behind them, disappearing into thin air.

"Oh my!" a voice suddenly exclaimed.

Aylene and Derek looked around sharply to see a large Ankylosaurus looking at them with shock. The two humans both jumped as the unexpected presence of this armored dinosaur surprised them just as much as they surprised him.

"Oh, sorry Kosh!" Derek laughed. "We didn't know you were there!"

"Ah, Derek." Kosh smiled when he saw the human. "And Aylene, welcome back."

"Great to be back, Kosh." Aylene smiled. "Sorry about the scare. I…can't really control where portals open."

"Ah, that's all right." Kosh shrugged. "It's just great to see you two. How have you been?"

"We're fine." Derek said. "How are things here?"

"Oh quiet as usual. But that's the way I like it."

"Say, Kosh," Aylene asked, "Do you know where Littlefoot and the others are?"

"I saw them head that way not to long ago."

Kosh looked up and pointed with his nose to a clearing just behind the two humans.

"Okay, thanks!"

Aylene gave a large wave as she turned around and started running toward the clearing.

"Aylene, wait!" Derek called out.

The elder brother set out running after his younger sister. Since she had gotten a good head start, he was just a few yards behind her. As the two of them raced through the Valley, Aylene saw to see a large leaf in the shape of a five-pointed star fly right past her. She turned her head for a split second and watched it float away in the wind.

At the same time, she heard a familiar voice scream just a few feet away from her.

"LOOK OUT, AYLENE!"

Aylene snapped her head forward to see who called out. However, the last thing she remembered seeing was a large, brownish object ramming hard into her, knocking the wind out of her at the same time. She then flew backwards and hit the ground. In an instant, everything around her went black.

* * *

"Aylene!"

"Are you all right?!"

"Hey! Wake up, Sis!"

Dizzy and stunned, Aylene slowly opened her eyes. For a moment, her vision was blurry. All she could see was six different colored objects in a circle looking down at her. She groaned and blinked a few times to clear up the image. Once the haziness lifted from her eyes, she saw Derek and her dinosaur friends, Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike all crowded around her. Each of them was looking at her with an expression of concern.

And Littlefoot was looking at her with guilt in his eyes.

"You okay, Aylene?" Petrie asked, worried.

"Ugh," the girl groaned, "I think so. But…what just hit me?"

At that question, Cera turned to Littlefoot with a teasing expression.

"Littlefoot sent you flying and knocked you out!" she said with an impish smirked.

Littlefoot looked away with embarrassment.

"Cera!" Derek scolded. "It was an accident!"

"I know that!" Cera snapped. "I was just joking!"

"Yeah," Littlefoot sheepishly replied before looking back at Aylene with guilt, "I'm really sorry, Aylene. The five of us were chasing a tree-star and…I didn't see you until it was too late. I tried to stop, but…"

That's when Aylene realized what happened. Because of Littlefoot's big size and mass, he couldn't stop himself in time. As a result, when they collided, since she had a smaller mass than him, she was the one most affect by the impact.

However, instead of being mad, Aylene starting laughing. The others looked back at her with confusion, especially Littlefoot. He just knocked out his best friend, and that didn't upset her?

"Well," the human girl said through her laughing, "that was what we humans call an epic fail! You gotta admit, that WAS epic!"

Seeing as how Aylene found the whole incident amusing, the others couldn't help but join her in laughing. In retrospect, from everyone else's point of view anyway, it was funny to watch: Littlefoot desperately skidding on the slippery grass to stop and Aylene flying back at least three feet upon impact was certainly something to see.

Pretty soon, the whole group was laughing so hard that they got tears in their eyes.


	3. Chapter 2: Invasion

**Invasion**

By the time the group of friends had gotten to the tail end of their laughter, their sides ached, but in a good way. Although they didn't say it aloud, they could all concur that there's nothing like a good laugh at something stupidly funny to start off the day.

It was then that a long shadow stretched over the group of friends. They all turned to see what had blocked out the sun.

"Grandpa!" Littlefoot happily exclaimed.

The large, grey elder longneck lowered his head down to the level of the young dinosaurs and humans with a warm smile. When he saw Aylene and Derek, he looked at the two of them and bowed his head slightly.

"Well," he said in deep, wise voice, "welcome back Aylene, Derek."

"Thanks, Grandpa Longneck." Derek replied. "It's great to be back. But what are you doing here?"

"Well," the elder Apatosaurus gave a small shrug, "I heard a commotion and I was wondering if everything was alright."

"Oh, everything's fine." Aylene said. "We were just enjoying a good laugh."

Suddenly, a strange thought occurred to Aylene and she looked back at her friends. "What were you guys doing anyway?"

The Gang looked at each other, as if they were expecting the first one they looked at to say something. When they got awkward glances, they looked at someone else.

Finally, Cera took a deep breath. "We were getting some treestars and one of them blew away. The one that was meant for me."

"No, it wasn't." Littlefoot immediately protested, knowing Cera was just trying to display her dominance again. "You knew that it was my turn to get the first treestar of the day."

"It was the last one on the tree." Cera gave a small glare. "That changed the rules."

"No, it didn't." the longneck shook his head firmly.

Aylene and Derek looked at each other and couldn't help but smirked. They had to admit that it was kind of funny to listen to these little dinosaurs arguing over food. Mostly because the two human siblings couldn't really think of a time when they argued over food. They didn't even fight over who got the last slice of cake. The only thing they could think of fighting over most of the time was the TV remote. And even then, those occasions were rather rare since they didn't really watch TV very much to begin with.

"Anyway," Littlefoot exhaled, "as we fought over it, the leaf snapped off and the wind carried it away. We chased after it and that's when we ran into you guys."

"You mean that's when _you_ ran into _Aylene_." Cera gave an impish smirked.

The longneck gave an embarrassed and slightly irritated glare at the threehorn.

"You're not going to let that one go, are you?" he groaned.

"Nope." Cera smugly stuck her horn up in the air.

"Well, you know what they say about a joke." Aylene smirked. "It's only funny until someone runs it into the ground so much that it needs to be buried. Besides, I'm not going to hold it against him."

Littlefoot gave a small smile. Aylene wasn't the type to hold a grudge, nor was she the type to tease anyone. She was very forgiving and knew an accident when she saw one.

Cera looked at Aylene with a small look of irritation that only lasted for a second. Although Aylene was one of her closest friends, the human did have a habit of being a little miss goody-goody that annoyed the young Triceratops a bit.

"And why do you guys have fight over food, anyway?" Derek said casually. "The Great Valley is loaded with vegetation. The stuff practically grows like wild fire here. If you wanted a "treestar", you've got a tree full of them just above us."

Derek pointed to the tree towering over the group.

"You're quite right, Derek." Grandpa Longneck said, lifting his head up toward the tree. "And there's plenty to go around."

Grandpa Longneck grabbed the tree with his mouth and began to shake it with such a mighty force that all the leafs on it began to fall off. They gracefully showered onto the dinosaur children and little humans like a rain of green stars. While the dinosaurs laughed and leapt up to grab the falling vegetation, Aylene and Derek brushed the leafs that fell on them off of their heads and shoulders. Pretty soon, the whole ground was covered in leafs shaped like stars.

"Thanks, Grandpa." Littlefoot said after he swallowed his meal.

"You're welcome, children." Grandpa Longneck graciously smiled. "There's really no need to argue over food. Here in the Great Valley we have more than enough food for us all."

It was then that the elder Apatosaurus lifted his head and turned toward the Great Wall that surrounded the Valley. As he did, he started to notice something coming up over the mountains. At first glance, it looked like a giant, brownish gold cloud moving steadily toward the Valley.

"Hmm," Grandpa Longneck squinted, "looks like we might be in for some rain. Oh, well. It just makes thing grow and…"

"Wait!" Derek suddenly said. "What's that sound?"

Everyone fell silent and listened. There was a strange sound that was getting louder by the second.

"Yeah, I hear it, too." Aylene said. "It sounds like…buzzing!"

The whole group turned and looked back at the approaching cloud. Derek narrowed his eyes to get a better look. As he stared at the strange cloud, he realized that it was moving a little too fast to be a raincloud. In a matter of seconds, it was already over the wall and descending down toward the heart of the Valley. Derek then began to notice individual specks in the cloud. They became clearer as it got closer.

That's when Derek realized what this was.

"Oh, no!" he exclaimed in horror. "It's a swarm of locusts!"

"What?!" Ducky shrieked. "What are locusts?!"

"Giant insects that eat any vegetation they come across!" Aylene said, her face turning white as paper.

If there one thing Aylene hated more than sharks, it was insects, particularly big ones.

The swarm of locusts began to attack. They alighted on anything that was a leaf and began to greedily gobble them all up. Once they were done, they moved onto the next tree and bush. Dinosaurs everywhere began to scramble around, screaming in surprise and terror as the insects swarmed all around them.

Derek, knowing Aylene was terrified of large insects, grabbed his younger sister by the arm and pulled her into a small hole at the base of a tree. Once she was in, he held her close to him with his back to the entrance, using himself as a kind of human shield.

"Derek!" Aylene cried.

"Hang on, Aylene!" Derek said. "It'll be over soon!"

From outside the hole, Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike were rushing around to find places of their own to hide from the terrifying plague of leaf-gobbling insects. Littlefoot made a mad-dash for a tangle of roots and squirmed his way in behind them, Cera leapt behind a larger boulder and dropped flat to the ground, Ducky and Petrie raced inside a hollowed out log lying on the grass, and Spike ducked into a tree that was split open at the base.

For the next few minutes, the horrible sound of high-pitched buzzing, panicked screams, and thundering footsteps rang throughout the Valley as the locusts continued to eat away at all the vegetation in sight. Just when everyone began to think there would be no end to this, the locusts all left as quickly as they came.

But they damage they had done remained.

Aylene and Derek slowly crawled out of the hole under the tree and took in a breath of horror at the sight before them. All of the leafs had been eaten away, leaving barren trees and bushes for as far as their eyes could see. There wasn't a single leaf left anywhere.

"Oh, no." Aylene whispered.

One by one, Littlefoot and the others began to creep out of their hiding places. Like the two humans, they all stared in horror as they saw that their home had been ravaged. Without the surplus of vegetation, there was no chance of them surviving in the Great Valley.

"I do not like locusts." Ducky sadly whimpered. "Oh, no, no, no."

* * *

Meanwhile, Strongfang was walking on the shore of the beach, looking for any source of food that he could bring back to his family. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any leaf-eaters in the area for him to hunt, and that was discouraging. He knew he had to find something soon, but his luck seemed to be running out.

Just as he was about to give up and turn around, he heard the sound of water splashing not too far away from him. Curious, he slowly walked over to where the sound was coming from. It was just beyond a sand dune a few feet way from him. When he reached it, he looked around the mound to see what was making the splashing.

What he saw was a pack of biters. However, these biters were different than the typical meat-eating variety. They had long snouts and jaws that resembled something like a bellydragger, long arms with three long, sharp talons on each hand, and some webbing on their talon feet.

The largest of the pack had a dark red color. Around his snout was a large, jagged scar.

The moment Strongfang saw that scar; he immediately realized that he knew this pack. He hadn't seen them in ages, but he certainly knew who they were.

"Battle Scar!" he called out. "Is that you?!"

Upon hearing his name, the leader of the pack lifted his head and turned in the direction the voice came from.

"Strongfang?" he said when he saw the large bitter.

Strongfang walked out from behind the sand dune and headed over to the pack. They all stopped what they were doing and turned to greet him.

"Well, this is a surprise." Strongfang said with a grin. "I haven't seen you guys in ages."

"I know." Battle Scar said. "But it is good to see you, old friend. How have you been?"

"As fine as I can be. Things have been kind of rough though. I have a family to feed and I can't find any food."

"Hmm," Battle Scar thought for a moment. "I think we can help with that. Do you think you could settle for some fish?"

Strongfang blinked at the offer. "Well, I've only had fish on a few occasions."

"Then just leave it to us," the scarlet biter turned to his pack. "Bar, Onyx, see if you can gather up some large fish for Strongfang."

"Yes, Battle Scar!" the two biters he addressed nodded in respect.

They then immediately went into the shallows of the ocean and began to hunt the fish swimming by.

"Oh, you don't have to do that." Strongfang said humbly. "I'm sure I can find something for my family. And you have your whole pack to feed."

"I know," Battle Scar said, "but we are more than happy to help you out. After all, you helped our pack on many occasions in the past. And don't worry; this place has a lot of fish for us to feed on. We'll be fine."

"Thank you, Battle Scar," the dark green biter nodded gratefully.

"By the way," Battle Scar's voice became very serious, "We've been hearing rumors that Sharptooth has been defeated. Is…that true?"

Strongfang gave a pained expression when he heard the sound of his brother's name. Battle Scar face softened when he saw this. He knew that Sharptooth and Strongfang were brothers, and he knew that they both hated each other. He understood that the subject of Sharptooth was a hard one for Strongfang. Although he didn't want to press the topic any farther than what he asked, he had to know the truth.

"Yes, it is." Strongfang finally nodded. "He was defeated by a group of young leaf-eaters and human girl."

Battle Scar stared in wonder as Strongfang told him this news. His eyes seemed to glisten with hope and relief. The whole pack also heard the news and turned their attention back to Strongfang. Each of them looked as if they wanted to hear more.

"Who did it?!" one asked eagerly.

"How did they do it?!" asked another one.

"I don't know how they did it," Strongfang replied, "but it was a longneck, a threehorn, a swimmer, a flyer, a spiketail, and a human. They defeated him. I've even seen them with my own eyes. They now live in the Great Valley."

The whole pack began to chat amongst themselves in excited and relieved voices when they heard this. Strongfang could just see the happiness overflowing from the group of biters as they exchanged joyful remarks to each other.

"Strongfang, you have no idea how relieved we are to hear that." Battle Scar smiled. "Thank you."

Strongfang graciously nodded. "Sharptooth won't threaten you're pack anymore, Battle Scar. I hope you can rest easier now."

"We can." Battle Scar replied.

A few minutes later, the two biters Battle Scar had issued to catch some fish came back with three large catches in their jaws and talons. They gave them to Strongfang, who easily picked them up in his massive jaws. He gave one last grateful nod to the pack of fish-eaters before turning around and walking back down the path that would take him back to the island, where his wife and son would be waiting for him.

As he did, Battle Scar looked over to the east and gave a very thoughtful look.

"We owe a lot to those kids," he said to himself. "I hope someday we will have a chance to return the favor."


	4. Chapter 3: Plans of Departure

**Plans of Departure**

Later that night, all of the adults in the Great Valley gathered under the luminous glow of the full moon to discuss the latest crisis that had befallen their home. Derek was also among them. He sat on Grandpa Longneck's back, his legs dangling over the side. He placed one hand on the base of the Apatosaurus' neck to help him from slipping off.

Grandpa Longneck looked over the crowd with a very serious expression and he spoke with great authority.

"When the sun rose today, the Great Valley was paradise," he said. "Now, the moon looks down on a waste land. I'm afraid it could be a long time before there's enough food in our beloved Valley to sustain us."

"Much as I hate to agree with a longneck," Cera's father, Topps, said gruffly, "I must admit that he's right. There's nothing left to eat."

Worried and concerned murmurs began to rise from the group of herbivore dinosaurs. This was certainly a horrible crisis indeed. It made the time when all of the water in the Great Valley had nearly dried up pale in comparison. At least then they found the source of the problem and were able to do something about it. This time, it was entirely in nature's hands.

As the grown-ups discussed the matter, Littlefoot, Aylene, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike slowly walked up behind a set of large rocks. They stopped and peered around to see the adults. They were just within hearing range, but also far enough that the grown-ups couldn't see them in the shadows.

Derek then stood up and gave a sharp whistle, which got everyone's attention. They all fell silent and turned to the human boy.

"Listen," Derek said calmly, "I know we have a predicament, but standing around fretting over it isn't going to get us anywhere. This is a difficult decision, but I think we'll agree that it is necessary. If we are going to have any chance of survival, then…"

Derek hesitated for a moment. He knew that what he was about to say next was going to be risky, and dangerous.

Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "We must leave the Great Valley."

That plan of action sent chills down everyone's spines. They all began to exchange worried remarks to each other.

"Leave the Great Valley?" Kosh questioned. "Impossible."

"We're protected here." Ducky and Spike's mother said with worry. "Beyond the mountain walls live…predators!"

At the mention of meat-eaters, the dinosaurs began to express even more worries and concerns. They were on the verge of breaking out in sheer panic at the very mere thought of encountering those carnivorous monsters. The only ones who didn't display any signs of fear were Littlefoot's grandparents and Cera's father.

In fact, Topps looked rather annoyed by everyone's lack of bravery.

"Get a hold of yourselves!" he snapped, getting everyone's attention. "Show some backbone!"

With a moment of silence, Grandpa Longneck took the moment to say some words of encouragement.

"My friends," he said calmly, "we have lived in our Great Valley so long that we forget all of us survived in the outside world before coming here. And we can do it again if we must."

From behind the rocks, the Gang slowly crept away to discuss what they just overheard. One thing was for sure, none of them felt too comfortable about this idea of departure.

"We can't leave the Great Valley." Littlefoot said, shaking his head. "Where would we go? Where would we live?"

"I guess we would probably join herds of our own kind somewhere." Cera suggested.

"I do not like this grown-up idea." Ducky said, folding her arms across her chest and shaking her head in disapproval.

Spike grunt and shook his head. He didn't have to speak a word for everyone to know that he agreed with is adoptive sister.

"Petrie no go!" Petrie said strongly. "They can't make me!"

"I don't live with a bunch of three-horns!" Cera interjected. "They're too bossy! What about you, Aylene?! What do you think about all of this?!"

Aylene said nothing.

It was then that the rest of the Gang became concerned. It was only now that they realized Aylene didn't speak a single word during their discussion. Usually, she would've said something reasonable by now to help them calm down. However, she didn't seem to be paying attention to the conversation at all.

In a way, she wasn't. She had taken her bow off of her shoulder and was holding it in both hands. She was staring at it with distressed look on her face, almost like she was in pain.

"Aylene, are you okay?" Littlefoot asked tentatively.

"Huh?" Aylene snapped her head up and looked at her long-necked friend. "Oh, yeah. I just…was thinking."

"About the herds separating?" Ducky asked.

"No, not really." Aylene hesitated. "I…I was thinking about…"

Before Aylene could finish her sentence, the Gang heard Grandpa Longneck speak to the adult dinosaurs.

"They were all agreed. At first light we leave the Great Valley together."

The last word he spoke, "together", was like music to the Gang's ears. The herds weren't going to split up after all. They were all in this together.

"Together!" they all joyfully said.

Well, all of them except Aylene. Instead, she cast a glance down at the ground.

After hearing this information, the group decided to leave it at that and headed back to their nesting grounds before any of the grown-ups saw them. As Littlefoot and Aylene walked back to the longneck's nest, Littlefoot couldn't help but notice Aylene still looked concerned, and had a slight tinge of fear in her eyes.

"What's the matter, Aylene?" he asked. "Didn't you hear Grandpa? He said we're leaving together."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Aylene mumbled so softly it was almost inaudible.

"What do you mean?"

Aylene glanced at Littlefoot for a moment before looking away, biting her lip as she did.

"It's late," she finally said. "I'll tell you in the morning. We better get some sleep."

Littlefoot just fell silent. He knew Aylene well enough by now to know that she only changed the subject like that when something was on her mind, but she wasn't really ready to discuss it. He decided that he would give her some time to think about whatever was on her mind before pressing the matter any further.

When the two friends reached the nesting ground, Littlefoot laid down while Aylene rested up against his side. While Littlefoot fell asleep almost instantly, Aylene laid awake. She rested her cheek against her dinosaur friend's side, feeling it rise and fall with each breath he took, as she thought about what was really troubling her.

She knew from the beginning of the conversation that the grown-ups had every intention of leaving together. So it wasn't the separation of herds that had her worried. She wasn't even thinking about where they would go to find another haven like the Great Valley.

She was thinking back to what Ducky and Spike's mother had said,

_"Beyond the mountain walls live…predators!"_

That's what had her concerned.

Aylene remembered what the two egg-stealers, Ozzy and Strut, had told her and Littlefoot some time in the past. It was so long ago, but she could remember every word as if they were spoken to her just minutes ago.

* * *

_"Well, since you are the ones who defeated Sharptooth, it is fair to give you and your friends a warning."_

_"Apparently your victory has spread throughout the Mysterious Beyond. Not just to the flat-teeth, but also to other sharp-teeth as well."_

_"And let's just say that if they catch you two or any of your friends, YOUR defeat will be seen as a sign of honor among the sharp-teeth."_

_"Sharptooth was known as the "Walking Terror. And by defeating HIS defeaters, whoever does will be considered the next one."_

* * *

Aylene knew this was true.

She and her friends had a close encounter with a pack of Velociraptors when they were trying to unblock the dam that held the water back during the time when the Great Valley had been plagued with a drought. Thanks to her ability to speak and understand carnivores in this world, she learned that they were after the Gang all for the sole reason of killing them to claim the title of the "Walking Terror". Those raptors kept attacking them, even when the grown-ups were around to defend them. They were persistent.

And if a pack of small raptors were so determined to destroy the Gang they would go up against a longneck as big as Littlefoot's grandfather, not mention a tough Triceratops like Cera's father, then Aylene didn't even want to know what larger predators like T-Rexes and Allosauruses would do, especially if they traveled in _packs_!

And that's what had Aylene worried the most. She knew that if she and her friends left the Great Valley, they would be open to attack by vengeful predators. And her greatest fear was that she wouldn't be able to protect her friends if they faced an adversary that was too much for them to handle.

Aylene turned her head to look up at the moon that was shining down on her. Simply out of habit, she clutched the Time Stone hanging around her neck. For some reason, it gave her a small sense of security. She slowly felt a strong, familiar conviction grow in her heart. It was the same determination she had when she wanted to protect her friends. She looked down at Littlefoot's head, seeing that he was sleeping soundlessly.

"Don't worry, Littlefoot," she whispered softly, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you or the others. I promise."

Finally, exhaustion came over Aylene and she dozed off.


	5. Chapter 4: Battle Scar

**Battle Scar**

On the shore of the sea, with the moon shining high in the night sky, Battle Scar and his pack were resting among the safety of some rocks. The waves gently rolled over the sand and lapped up against Battle Scar's feet as he stood in the shallows, looking out over the vast ocean stretch before him. It seemed to go on forever, like some endless lake, especially now that it was nighttime. He had seen the ocean many times in his life, but the sight of it never ceased to amaze him.

Battle Scar and his pack were not like most predators of this world that the Gang had encountered in the past. They didn't eat the flesh of leaf-eaters. Instead, they preyed upon fish. Wherever there was a source of water that had a surplus of fish, they could survive. They often traveled around, following herds of leaf-eaters to where there would be sources of water. For a while, these herds would be wary when they saw these biters following them. However, they became less agitated when they saw that the pack made no intention of harming them.

As for Battle Scar himself, he was a strong and noble leader, just like his father before him. However, his name wasn't always Battle Scar. His birth name was originally Small Talon. The reason for this was because when he was born, he was a runt. Although he was the son of the leader of the pack, he didn't hold a lot of promise of becoming as strong and fierce as his father.

However, on one fateful, and terrible day, everything changed.

* * *

_"It's Sharptooth!" a fish-eating predator cried out in fear. "He's coming!"_

_At the sound of that name, the whole fish-eater pack erupted in sheer panic and terror. Small Talon began to tremble when he heard that Sharptooth was coming. His voice failed him, and he couldn't bring himself to scream._

_"Everyone!" Small Talon's father roared above the panics of the crowd. "Get across the river! He won't follow us there! Children and elders first! All strong fighters will help fend Sharptooth off!"_

_Small Talon watched as the children and elders raced into the river. Even though there were fierce rapids in the river, the pack were all experienced enough with these kind of conditions to know what to do. The larger members picked up the young ones and carried them either in their mouths or on their backs. When they hit the deeper parts of the water, they immediately began to swim toward the opposite shore as fast as they could. Because the rapids were also carrying them away, they had to swim at an angle to make sure they could get to the shore on the opposite side._

_Once all of the children and elders were across, Small Talon's father began to tell the others to head across._

_"Son!" he said urgently to Small Talon. "Get across to safety! Quickly!"_

_"B-B-But what about you?!" Small Talon stuttered, completely petrified._

_"Don't worry about me!" the little biter's father said. "I'll…!"_

_At that moment, there was a horrible, terror-inducing, heart-pounding roar erupted from the edge of the forest._

_Like a living nightmare, Sharptooth came storming out of the forest!_

_Small Talon screamed when he saw the gigantic, greenish black biter. His enormous, terrifying jaws were dripping with saliva. His blood red eyes locked right onto Small Talon._

_Those eyes were absolutely terrifying. They didn't even look normal by the standard of most predators. All the kindness and compassion that Sharptooth might have had at some point in his life seemed to have vanished completely. He couldn't even speak anymore._

_His soul was just filled with mindless rage, anger, hunger, and hatred._

_Suddenly, Sharptooth lunged forward toward Small Talon!_

_But before he could reach the petrified biter, Small Talon's father charged forward and knocked Sharptooth aside. He then snarled as he stepped in front of his son, determined to shield him from this monster._

_"Small Talon!" the pack leader shouted. "RUN!"_

_But Small Talon couldn't move. He was frozen to his spot with such a fearful grip that he had never felt before. And it only got worse as he watched his father fight this monster of a biter._

_Sharptooth and Small Talon's father slashed and lunged at each other with their jaws. Since both biters were about the same size, it was a pretty even match. However, Small Talon's father did have the advantage of having longer arms and three talons on each hand, so he had a longer reach than Sharptooth. This allowed him to get a few good deep scratching into the monstrous biters But Sharptooth had two things on his side; the first being his wicked jaws, and the second being that he was a big cheat._

_As Small Talon's father was recovering from a lunge, Sharptooth whipped his enormous tail around and hit the fish-eater in the side with such a force that it sent him flying. Normally, in this kind of situation, a biter would wait at least for a few seconds for their opponent to get back up before continuing the fight._

_However, Sharptooth didn't wait._

_He charged forward at the recovering fish-eater and bit down hard on his neck!_

_Small Talon watched in absolute terror as he saw his father cry out in agony. The fish-eater slashed his long talons at Sharptooth, but the monstrous biter didn't let go. He continued to bit down even harder._

_At that moment, something in Small Talon snapped. He wasn't quite sure if his next action was one of bravery or stupidity, but something inside him made him rush forward, and bit down on Sharptooth's left upper leg as hard as he could._

_Sharptooth let go of Small Talon's father, and let out a roar of pain. He then whipped around and growled angrily at Small Talon. The little fish-eater fearfully backed away as the gigantic monster advanced on him. Although he wasn't considered a hatchling anymore, he was significantly smaller than Sharptooth was._

_He was good as dead._

_Suddenly, Sharptooth lunged forward and opened his jaws so wide, that Small Talon could see down his throat. Sharptooth came upon the young fish-eater so fast that before Small Talon knew what was happening, the enormous biter's jaws had clamped down onto the little biter's snout, just inches away from his eyes._

_Small Talon thrashed around violently in a panic, trying to get himself free before Sharptooth decided to bite off his nose. He was so frightened that he didn't even notice the pain rushing through his head. The only thing that his brain was registering was that he was going to lose his whole snout unless he got free._

_Finally, with one desperate maneuver, Small Talon managed to wrench himself free of Sharptooth's jaws._

_Small Talon let out a cry of near-blinding pain. Blood began to seep out of the wound around his snout and fall to the ground. He looked back up in time to see Sharptooth advance on him again. This time, Small Talon lunged to his right, just barely escaping the monster's jaws. He then heard the sound of water splashing and looked over to see that Sharptooth had fallen over into the river. Because of the rapids, and because Sharptooth couldn't swim as well as Small Talon and his pack, he was immediately swept up by the water and was carried far down stream in just a matter of minutes._

_That was the last time Small Talon saw Sharptooth. But this was an experience that he would remember the rest of his life, and it would give him nightmares until he was an old biter._

_Small Talon then heard the sounds of his father groaning. He scrambled to his feet and raced over to his injured father. When he saw the extent of his father's wounds, he gasped in horror._

_Small Talon's father's neck had several deep teeth marks. Each of them had crimson blood slowly seeping out of them. He had horrible gashes in his sides from where Sharptooth had used his foot talons to inflict damage. He also had some broken bones in his arms, legs, and ribs. His breathing was raspy and shallow._

_One look at his father, and Small Talon knew that there was nothing he could do._

_"Small…Talon," the dying biter said weakly as he looked up at his son._

_"Father," Small Talon mournfully whispered._

_Through his blurry vision, Small Talon's father could see the large wound around his son's snout. He knew what had happened._

_"Small…Talon," he struggled to speak, "that name…doesn't suit you anymore…does it?"_

_"Don't try to talk!" Small Talon said, very worried._

_"No…" the leader of the pack strained. "I must tell you…you're name is no longer Small Talon…"_

_Small Talon's father coughed, causing some blood to drip from his mouth. Small Talon could only watch and stare in horror._

_"You're name…" the dying biter continued. "You're name…from now on…is…Battle Scar."_

_"Battle…Scar?" the young biter repeated in a shaken voice._

_"My son…" his father's voice was much weaker. "I know…you will lead this pack well…I…I'm so proud of you. Continue to be…strong…be…brave. I…I love you…Battle Scar."_

_With those last words, Battle Scar's father gave one last breath. He was then still. All the life had gone from him._

_Battle Scar fell to the ground beside his dead father, and wept bitter tears. Each salty tear stung his wound as they ran down his snout._

_His father was gone._

_During the whole time Battle Scar was grieving, the other members of the pack found a way back to where their leader had fallen, and looked on in sadness. Battle Scar's father was indeed a great leader. Noble, strong, kind, brave, and wise; he led them for many years. Now, seeing him dead right before them, every one of them, including the younger ones who had only known him for a short amount of time, felt a great loss in their hearts._

_Finally, Battle Scar stood up. Although his heart was still aching with grief and sadness, he knew that it was his turn to be strong. He was the leader of the pack now. His father had entrusted the safety of the pack to his son, and he wasn't going to let him down._

_"I promise you, father," he whispered, hoping that his voice would somehow be heard by his father, "I will lead this pack. I'll protect and guide them, just like you have."_

_Battle Scar then turned to the rest of his pack, who were looking at him with sorrowful expressions._

_"Come," he said in a low voice, "there is nothing for us here. We must move on."_

_With that, the pack left the area. Battle Scar looked back only once at the dead body of his father, for he knew that this was the last time he would ever see him._

* * *

Ever since that day, Battle Scar had led the pack as best as he could. He had grown stronger, wiser, and became the best fighter among them. His promise to his father led him to become the biter he was today. And he was proud of it.

The scar he had received form Sharptooth was a reminder of what it meant to be a leader. It meant putting yourself in harms way and facing the greatest of dangers to protect the ones you love. His scar was no longer seen as a battle wound. It was a sign of honor. It was something that he would cherish forever.

Battle Scar looked up at the full moon, and pondered over what Strongfang had told him and his pack about Sharptooth's defeat. A huge weight seemed to have been lifted from his shoulders, and his soul felt much lighter than it had in years.

Those children, the longneck, threehorn, swimmer, flyer, spiketail, and human, the ones who had defeated Sharptooth; were also the ones who had avenged Battle Scar's father. Although he knew that they themselves didn't know it, he was still deeply grateful to them.

Now, more than anything, all he wanted to do was return the favor.

"I owe a great debt to you children," he said, gazing up at the sky. "I just hope that someday I can somehow return it."


	6. Chapter 5: Everything Goes Wrong

**Everything Goes Wrong**

The very next morning, the herds of the Great Valley awoke to the rising sun, and immediately gathered together in the center of the Valley. They then set out to find another place full of vegetation to feed on until their home had time to heal from the locust attack.

As they walked towards an exit in the Great Wall, Derek caught a glimpse of Aylene's face. She was walking right beside Littlefoot; only she wasn't looking at her friend. If anything, she was trying to avoid his gaze. She was looking more distressed than she did yesterday.

Something was definitely up.

Derek slowed his pace a bit until he was walking beside his sister.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

Aylene glanced at the brother for a moment before looking at Littlefoot. She then looked down at the ground.

That's when Derek began to realize a bit of what was going on. Aylene did have something on her mind, but whatever it was, she didn't want to say it around Littlefoot. If Derek was going to get his sister to talk, he would first have to get the little longneck away from them.

"Littlefoot," he said casually, "why don't you go walk with your grandparents. I need to talk to my sister for a moment."

"Uh, sure." Littlefoot nodded.

Littlefoot wasn't really the nosy type, so he just left the two siblings alone and ran to catch up with his grandparents. Aylene looked up at Derek and could immediately tell that he wanted to know what was wrong with her. She licked her lips as she searched for the words to say.

"I…we heard the conversation last night," she said softly.

"Yeah, I figured you did." Derek replied. "Are you worried about the journey?"

"It's not the journey that worries me." Aylene confessed. "It's what we might encounter."

Derek's eyes widened a bit. He realized what she was talking about.

"It's the predators, isn't it?" he said.

Aylene looked up at him, her face was full of concern.

"You were there when the Velociraptors attacked us," she said. "You saw how determined they were to get us. They even went after you all because you were my brother. They didn't even back down from Grandpa Longneck, Topps, _and_ Kosh, even when the three of them teamed up."

Derek frowned as Aylene continued.

"All the predators in this world are after me and my friends all for some "Walking Terror" title, all because we defeated Sharptooth. As long as we were in the Great Valley, we were safe. But now…especially if we run into a pack of much larger carnivores…"

Aylene's voice trailed off. She looked away from Derek, unable to hold his gaze.

Derek took a deep breath. He had a feeling this was what his sister was afraid of.

"It'll be okay, Sis," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "As long as we stay with the herd, we'll be okay."

"Yeah?" Aylene miserably groaned. "I wish I was that sure."

"Hey," Derek tightened his grip on Aylene's shoulder, "I'm not going to let those predators lay a hand on you or the others. I promise."

Aylene looked up at her brother and gave a weak smile.

"Thanks," she whispered. "But please, don't tell the others. I don't want them to panic."

Derek gave a single nod in response. He knew the Gang well enough by now that some of them were given to panicking with the drop of a hat at the mere sound of danger. While Littlefoot and Cera weren't really the types to lose their nerve in a desperate situation, Petrie and Ducky were a little more on the skittish side of things. And the last thing the group needed was to go crazy with paranoia that predators might be stalking them with every turn they make.

With that resolve, Aylene and Derek raced on ahead to catch up with the rest of the herd. In a few minutes, they left the Great Valley, and began their journey across the Mysterious Beyond.

* * *

Day after day, the herds of the Great Valley marched on together, searching for any sign of food. To Aylene's relief, there didn't seem to be a predator in sight. It was if by some coincidence, they had all vanished.

However, it did seem that the locust plague had not only scourged the Great Valley, but everything beyond it as well. The path they took through the Mysterious Beyond seemed to be nothing but a giant wasteland. It was only on rare occasions that they came across small rivers that they could get a drink from.

However, while the rivers did contain fresh water, they didn't contain any fish.

For Aylene and Derek, it was a bit more of a grueling situation. They didn't have the same endurance as the dinosaurs, and often had to ride on the backs of some of them. The burning heat of the sun seemed to beat down on them with merciless rays. By the time night had come around; both of them were hot, sweaty, and miserable. Although they had some sunscreen to help protect them, they still managed to get burned on their shoulders a little.

Matters only got more challenging when the two of them realized they had to reserve their food stock. Unlike the dinosaur herds, the humans didn't have the same low metabolism like they did. Although both Aylene and Derek could survive on small amounts at a time, they couldn't go more than one day without eating. Otherwise they would start to feel sick. Not to mention, they also had their water supplies to worry about. If either one of them got too dehydrated, a disastrous result would no doubt occur.

And neither of them wanted to get heat exhaustion. Or worse.

The two of them did their best to walk in the shadows of the larger dinosaurs like Grandpa and Grandma Longneck. They drank only enough water to keep themselves hydrated, and they only ate enough to keep them going.

Once or twice, it had occurred to Aylene that she could use her Time Stone so that she and Derek could return back to their world and resupply, but there was a hitch in that plan. For one thing, the would both have wait for the Time Stone to recharge, and they didn't know how long that would take. By the time they could get back, the herd could be miles away. The other was that if they made the journey back and forth between the two worlds too often in this kind of situation, then their parents would definitely become even more suspicious.

Overall, they both decided it would best if they stayed with the herd, and only return to their world if circumstances became too dire for them to handle.

On the third day, Aylene and Derek walked side-by-side in the shadow of Kosh. By now, the clubtail dinosaur was so weariy of walking around in the heat with little to no food in his stomach, that he wasn't even paying attention to the two humans as they talked to each other.

"So," Derek said, "was this what it was like when you first traveled to the Great Valley?"

Aylene looked up at her brother with a subtle expression of surprise.

"Why do you ask?" she said.

"Well," the boy shrugged, "when you're walking around in a desert with nothing to do but stare at the rocks for entertainment, you generally want to strike up a conversation."

Aylene smirked at that statement. Derek was definitely bored.

"Well, sort of," she replied. "Only it wasn't this barren. We did come across a shrub or two in our travels. This land certainly has changed since the last time I saw it. That is, if this is one of the places me and my friends past through."

"I bet this is all because of those locusts." Derek narrowed his eyes a bit. "They seemed to have preceded us at every turn."

"Yeah," Aylene said sadly. "And morale of this herd is starting to become weaker. Everyone is getting frustrated with each other. As far as I can see, you and I are the only ones who have kept our sanity stable."

"I know what you mean. At this rate, I'm worried one of them, not naming any names, is going to snap and do something reckless."

Aylene frowned deeply. She knew that Derek was talking about Topps. That Triceratops already had a short temper, and everyone could tell that it was getting shorter by the day. Even Cera was now walking on eggshells around him. And when Topps own daughter, who has the biggest respect for him out of anyone, begins to be cautious around him, you know it's serious.

Suddenly, the whole herd stopped.

"What's going on?" Aylene asked.

"I don't know." Derek replied.

The two humans hastily made their way through the maze of dinosaur feet to try and get to the front to see what had caused the herd to come to a halt. When they did, the both stopped dead in their tracks, and their mouths dropped open in horror.

Right in front of the herd, was the skeleton of a duckbill dinosaur.

Everyone stared at it in shock and horror, particularly Ducky and her family. Even Aylene and Derek were disturbed to see it. Even through they had seen dinosaur skeletons in museums, in books, and on television documentaries, they didn't really have a connection to any of those skeletons back in their world. However, in this world, for some reason, it was quite a different story.

"What do you think happened?" Littlefoot asked as he walked up beside Aylene, his voice shaken.

"Well," Aylene squinted her eyes to examine the remains, "I don't see any bite marks. And it would've had to be here for quite a while for it to have decayed this much. I'm guessing it died of starvation."

"I'm thinking the same thing." Derek nodded. "And looks like it was heading this way when it died."

"Then there's obviously no food in that direction." Grandpa Longneck spoke up. "We must change our course."

"Hmph." Topps gruffly snorted. "Everyone knows how stupid duckbills are."

"Excuse me!" Ducky's mother snapped, but Topps ignored her.

"This poor fool probably wandered in circles for days," he continued. "And that's what will happen to us if we don't keep going in a straight line."

"What we need is a map." Aylene rolled her eyes sarcastically, although was a little bit serious about the group needing a map.

However, no one except for Littlefoot and Derek heard her. Everyone else was now starting to exchange worried statements amongst themselves about whether to listen to Grandpa Longneck or Topps. Tension was slowly rising, and everyone could feel it almost like it was a physical presence.

Grandpa Longneck slowly raised his head and looked somewhere over the horizon to the south.

"Still," he said calmly, "I think this way would be…"

"Listen, Longneck!" Topps snapped. "I for one am getting fed up with this "I'm-taller-so-that-makes-me-better-than-you" attitude of yours!"

"Hey!" Derek retorted. "He doesn't have that attitude!"

"You stay out of this, human!" Topps shouted, turning sharply to Derek.

Aylene nervously stepped back while Derek stood his ground.

It was then that she caught the sound of Littlefoot and Cera arguing.

"Your father can't talk to my Grandpa like that!" Littlefoot scowled at the young threehorn.

Cera, already feeling hungry, thirsty, and discouraged about everything, responded by giving Littlefoot a violent shove with her head. It was so hard that it knocked the wind out of him and pushed him back on his rear-end.

"He can talk anyway he wants!" she shouted.

That did it!

Aylene turned around just in time to Littlefoot and Cera charge toward each other and ram their heads together. She gasped in horror as the sight of the two of them fighting triggered a memory deep in the back of her mind. It was when the Gang was traveling to the Great Valley for the first time. Littlefoot and Cera had gotten into an argument that eventually led into physical violence.

And it seemed to be happening all over again.

"Guys!" Aylene shrieked, racing towards them. "Stop it!"

The rest of the Gang saw the fight happening and followed Aylene's lead. Ducky and Petrie rushed over to Littlefoot and tried to force him away from Cera, with Ducky pushing on Littlefoot's fore-leg, and Petrie pulling the longneck back by his tail.

Meanwhile, Spike and Aylene were trying to restrain Cera as best as they could. Spike managed to get a hold of Cera's tail in his mouth and pulled her back as hard as he could, while Aylene grabbed a handful of Cera's hide in her hands and pulled her back.

"Hey!" Cera cried with indignation. "Let me go!"

"Fighting is not going to resolve anything!" Aylene retorted, trying to keep the angry Cera back.

However, the Gang was so focused on their own fight that they didn't really notice the grown-ups arguing. It was only now that they caught the tail end of the debate. And it was one that they wished they would never hear.

Topps was so angry that his judgment had become clouded. He had enough of wandering around aimlessly and starving, and this was the final straw. He had lost his temper completely.

"That settles it!" he bellowed so that everyone could hear him. "We're splitting up! From now on it's every herd for itself!"

The Gang had completely forgotten about their own conflict when they heard the news. They all gasped in horror and their hearts sank as if they were stones in their chests.

All they could think about now was that the herds were splitting up. And since each of the herds was relatively small, and most of them had weak defenses, the little group knew that there was a big chance they would never see each other again.

What were they going to do?

* * *

Meanwhile, far away in the Mysterious Beyond, a giant predator was on the move. He was larger than most biters, his skin was of a dark green color, and he had plates along his back that ended down at his tail.

He had recently caught wind of a rumor that the place known at the Great Valley had been ravaged by a giant swarm of leaf-gobblers and that all the herds had left. Upon hearing that it was the Great Valley, he became deeply interested.

For he knew that was the place where the defeaters of Sharptooth were said to be residing.

When he went to investigate, he found a trail of leaf-eater footprints leading away from the Great Wall. They ranged in different sizes; from a full grown adult to a little hatchling. There were also two sets of peculiar footprints that didn't belong to any dinosaur he knew of. They didn't have any toes, but they did have strange markings on the bottom. As he sniffed them, he also realized that they had a strange scent.

He soon figured that these strange tracks must belong to the strange creatures known as humans.

As soon as he realized that the herds really had left the Great Valley, taking the ones who defeated Sharptooth with them, a wicked idea soon came into his head. He, like many of his kind, had been waiting for an opportunity to become the next "Walking Terror". With Sharptooth's defeaters out of their little safe haven, they were easy prey now.

He could easily get them now.

However, just as he was thinking of this, he was hit with the reality that the whole herd had gotten a pretty good head start. Judging by the scent of the tracks, they were at least three days away. Not to mention, the giant biter was fully aware that they children were traveling in a big herd that consisted of even larger leaf-eaters that were pretty well armed with sheer mass, horns, or armor.

Still, his desire to become the next "Walking Terror" was greater than his concern for any of the larger leaf-eaters like the longnecks or threehorns. He would devise a plan to separate the children from the adults when he found them.

With an evil conviction, he set out after the herd, his teeth just dying to sink into the flesh of those who had defeated Sharptooth.


	7. Chapter 6: Only Choice

**Only Choice**

The waxing gibbous moon had risen high into the night sky as the Great Valley herds all slept in the center of a wasteland.

Well, almost all of them were sleeping. There were still a few members that remained awake.

Littlefoot and Aylene were both having a difficult time getting to sleep. It didn't matter what they tried to do to get comfortable, they just couldn't close their eyes for more than a few seconds.

They couldn't stop thinking about the next day. They knew what was coming the moment the sun rose up over the eastern horizon. While Derek had at least managed to persuade Topps to wait until the sunrise before the herds made their separate departures, that didn't make any one feel better. If anything, it just delayed the inevitable.

All of the herds were still going to split up, and the Gang was going to be separated, more than likely for good.

"What are we going to do?" Littlefoot asked miserably, looking over at his human friend.

Aylene was lying flat on he back with her hands behind her head. She stared up at the stars sparkling in the sky. Her face was one of utter despair.

"I wish I knew, Littlefoot," she sighed. "But you heard what Topps said. There's not much we can do."

"You're not suppose to say that!" the Apatosaurus said in a sad kind surprise. "You're supposed to come up with a plan to keep the herds together!"

"Am I?" Aylene groaned. "Well, sorry. I've come up dry this time."

"C'mon, Aylene!" Littlefoot pleaded desperately, in the quietest voice that he could possible do. "You've always got a plan for a situation like this! You've got to have some kind of idea!"

Aylene briefly glanced over at her friend before turning away. However, Littlefoot managed to catch a gleam of something in her eyes before she looked away from him. It was one he had seen many times before.

"Well, I don't." Aylene said, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I can't think of a way out of this one. But if you've got any ideas, then I'm all ears."

Had Aylene not been in such a drowsy state, she probably wouldn't have said that last sentence.

Littlefoot gave a small scowl. He knew perfectly well that Aylene had a plan, he could tell by that gleam in her eye. She always got that kind of look whenever she had an idea stirring in her brain.

But some reason she wasn't voicing it. By why not? She was just as distressed about the situation as he was, so why wasn't she anything?

Well, if she wasn't going to say her plan, then he was going to say it for her.

"Let's get the others together and run away so that the grown-ups will be forced to stay together to follow us," he said confidently.

The second Aylene heard that, her eyes widened in horror and she sat bolt upright. She looked at Littlefoot with absolute terror and shock.

"That's a terrible idea!" she exclaimed in a whisper.

"I'm just saying what you were thinking." Littlefoot replied, narrowing his eyes a little.

Aylene bit her lip. That _was_ what she was thinking. She gave a small groan. This was one of the disadvantages of Littlefoot knowing her so well; he could practically read her like an open book.

However, Littlefoot didn't know that she was also thinking of the consequences that could befall them if they left the security of the herd. That much she was able to conceal.

"No!" Aylene said harshly. "I'm putting my foot down on this one! There's got to be another way!"

"C'mon, Aylene!" Littlefoot protested firmly. "It's our only chance! If we don't do something by morning then we'll all be separated forever! We made it through the wilderness by ourselves before, and we can do it again and you know it!"

There was a long silence. Littlefoot and Aylene looked at each other as if they were having an intense staring competition. Aylene shifted uncomfortably and tightened her lips. She knew Littlefoot was right, but she was afraid of what would happen if they left the herds and went by themselves.

This wasn't exactly like the time they braved the wilderness to find the Great Valley. Back then, they were just nameless creatures walking on the face of the earth. Now, they had developed a reputation amongst the predators of this world.

Still, at least they would be together. That seemed to be the most important thing at the moment. And Aylene couldn't bear the thought of the Gang being split up forever. That was one of the worse things she could think of.

At last, Aylene took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Okay, you win," she said in a low voice. "You get the others together and tell them the plan, then bring them back here. I'll leave a message."

"A message?" Littlefoot questioned. "Aylene, you know we can't read."

"Dinosaurs can't, but Derek can." Aylene pointed out. "He can tell the grown-ups about it when he finds it. But we better hurry if we want to get a good distance between here and wherever it is we're going."

"Okay," the longneck nodded. "I'll be right back."

With that, Littlefoot quietly scampered off to round up the others. Aylene took one of her arrows in her quiver and began to scribble down a message in the dirt. While the ground was a little hard, she managed to make the letters at least readable. She did her best to make the letters big enough for Derek to see them when he looked on the ground, for she knew that something like this could easily be overlooked, especially if you're not looking for it.

All the while, Aylene kept thinking, _"I know I'm going to regret this."_

There was no turning back at this point.

Although Aylene knew that this was probably the only way the Gang would be able to keep the herds together, she was still having horrible trepidations about it.

There might not have been predators at the beginning of this journey, but Aylene had horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach and the back of her mind that it was only a matter of time until they came across some. And now that they had decided to go off on their own, the Gang was going to be more of an easy picking.

Aylene also knew it was up to her to protect them. She was the only one who could defend them in some way. She also knew that if she made one mistake, it could be the last one she ever made, for both herself and her friends.

But what could she do if they faced a pack of predators, especially if those predators were something like T-Rexes or Allosauruses? She only had a limited number of arrows. Not to mention, she was as skinny as a rake compared to the dinosaurs. Those monsters had powerful jaws, sharp talons, and were at least ten times bigger than she was.

One wrong move and…

No! She couldn't think like that!

She made a promise that she wouldn't let anything happen to her friends, and she was going to keep that promise no matter what the cost.

Failure was not an option.

By the time she was done writing the note, Littlefoot had returned with Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike in tow. All of them had huge smiles on their faces and a twinkle in their eyes. They were all just glad that they weren't going to be separated now.

Aylene put on her quiver, gym bag, and archery bow. Once she was done making these preparations, she turned back to her friends.

"You guys ready?" she asked quietly.

"You bet we are." Cera nodded confidently.

"Okay. Then let's go."

With that, the Gang set off quickly and quietly into the night.

* * *

A few hours later, the sun began to rise up over the eastern horizon. The stars slowly faded as the purple sky slowly began to change to pale color. The shining rays of the sun stretched across the sky and across the land below.

The moment the light reached the slumbering dinosaur herds, they all awoke. However, there was a grim vibe coming from all of them as they began to open their eyes. They all remembered that this was the day they would go their own ways. They all knew that this was going to be a difficult day.

However, it wasn't going to be the kind of difficult they were initially thinking of.

It didn't take long before they all realized that something was wrong.

That something was the fact that six of their children were missing!

"Ducky! Spike!" Ducky's mother cried when she saw that the little swimmer and spiketail were gone from the nest.

"Petrie!" Petrie's mother shrieked, ruffling through the brambles of her makeshift nest, looking for her son.

"Littlefoot!" Grandpa and Grandma Longneck called, looking around franticly for their grandson.

"Aylene!" Derek shouted when he realized his little sister was gone.

"Cera!" Topps yelled at the top of his lungs in distress.

Suddenly, after hearing everyone cry out the names of the missing children, everyone looked at each other like they had all been struck by lightning. There was one thing that those six had in common: they were all part of the Gang. And the Gang was known for getting into trouble on an almost-regular basis.

They were also known for sticking together like glue. So any threat to them being separated…

"They wouldn't." Grandma Longneck gasped in horror.

"Oh, yes they would." Derek said, pointing to something on the ground.

There, scribbled in the dirt and rock in jagged letters, was the message Aylene left. While the adult dinosaurs stared at it with curiosity, Derek's eyes scanned over it as he brain processed the words.

_"Derek,_

_Please tell the other adults this. My friends and I have left together to find another place with food so we can keep the herds from separating. We'll leave good tracks so that you can follow us._

_Aylene_

_P.S. THIS WAS NOT MY IDEA! SO DON'T CHEW ME OUT WHEN YOU FIND US!"_

"Oh, Aylene." Derek groaned when he had finished reading it.

"What is it, Derek?!" Grandpa Longneck asked urgently. "What's wrong?!"

"They did it again!" Derek exclaimed in a distressed voice. "They pulled another stunt! What is with them in getting into trouble all the time?!"

"What are you talking about?!" Topps demanded. He was reasonably angry.

"My sister and her friends left so that we would be forced to stick together!" Derek explained. "Ugh! My sister can be an idiot sometimes!"

"Never mind that, how do we find them?!" Grandma Longneck said, trying to contain her rising panic.

"They said they were going to leave good tracks," the young man said. "We should follow them. And before anyone starts and argument," Derek shot a scowl at Topps, who scowled back at the human, "I suggest that we get moving and find them before something else does if you know what I mean."

"Agreed." Grandpa Longneck, lowing his head to allow Derek to climb on. "Let's get moving."

There was no disagreement or hesitation after that order was given. The herds immediately set out in the direction of the footprints that were left behind by the six children. All the while, they were hoping that the Gang was alive and safe for the time being.

No one wanted to think about if something terrible happened to those children if they failed to find them in time.

"Aylene," Derek whispered in a low voice, "wherever you are, you better be alive."


	8. Chapter 7: To the Edge of the Sea

**To the Edge of the Sea**

Aylene wasn't really the type to get motion sickness. However, riding on the back of an Apatosaurus that was half-walking half-stomping for a few consecutive hours was beginning to make her stomach jostle around and her head spin.

It wasn't just Littlefoot who was walking like that either. Cera and Spike were doing that, too. As for Petrie and Ducky, the flyer got a grip on the swimmer's shoulder's with his feet and were flap his wings in such a way so that she could firmly press her feet into the ground.

This left four trails of clear, deep footprints.

"Ugh." Aylene groaned, feeling her internal organs lurch again as Littlefoot made another stomp.

"You okay, Aylene?" the said dinosaur asked, turning his head to look at his friend.

"Yeah." Aylene lied in a woozy voice. "Just a little dizzy. Let's just keep moving."

"I don't understand why we have to walk like this." Cera grunted in irritation. "It's so stupid."

"We got to leave good tracks for the grown-ups to follow us." Littlefoot explained calmly. "And we better pick up the pace if we want to find any food before they find us."

"Well," Petrie squawked, "me just hope they find us before something else does."

Aylene curled her lips into her mouth and bit them. Petrie just said exactly what she was thinking. Ever since they had left the Great Valley herds, an overwhelming fear had begun to grip her. It gradually grew tighter and tighter the further they wandered away from the safety of the large herd. It was now so tight that it was almost suffocating her sanity.

It was also probably the main reason why she felt so sick. Her high anxiety mixed with the violent stomps of Littlefoot's feet would be enough to make her feel like she was going to vomit.

Finally, she couldn't handle it anymore.

"Oh man, guys we gotta stop!" Aylene moaned, covering her mouth with her hand. "I think I'm going to be sick!"

After hearing that, the Gang immediately came to a stop. Aylene quickly got off of Littlefoot's back and stumbled away for a few feet. She then fell to her knees, shut her eyes, and gripped the hot dirt ground with one hand. Her other hand covered her mouth, trying to prevent anything nasty from coming out of it. She really didn't want to throw up in front of her friends.

Aylene took several deep breaths of air through her nose. Now that she wasn't being jostled around anymore, she was starting to feel a little better. Her stomach began to settle and her head slowly came back into focus.

_"Calm down, Aylene,"_ she said to herself. _"You're okay. Just calm down."_

After a few minutes, the wave of nausea left Aylene completely.

"Are you alright, Aylene?" Littlefoot asked, concerned.

"Yeah, now I am." Aylene replied steadily. "Sorry. I just got a little motion sick."

Aylene opened her eyes and looked down at the ground. What she saw was something that made her blood practically turn to ice inside her veins and her face as white as paper.

There, just a few inches away from her was a deep footprint. But it wasn't a footprint that belonged to any leaf-eating dinosaur. The three toe imprints had sharp points that only belonged to meat-eating dinosaurs.

Aylene had seen this kind of footprint many times in dinosaur field guides and TV documentaries. She knew right away what it was.

"Utahraptor prints!" she squeaked in alarm.

The Gang all looked to where their human friend was pointing at, and they all looked at it in terror. For it wasn't just one footprint, it was a trail of Utahraptor tracks.

This was the first sign of any predator they had seen since they left the Great Valley, and it looked like the creature that made those tracks was here only moments ago.

"Well," Cera said finally, breaking the tension, "whatever it was, it went that way."

The Triceratops pointed in the direction off to their left with her head. The tracks trailed off to the south and disappeared on the edge of the horizon.

"Yes, but what if it come back?!" Petrie squeaked, disturbed.

"Well then it's going to have to deal with me!" Cera replied with a determined scowl.

"Wow, I feel safe." Aylene mumbled sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"What was that?!" Cera snapped.

"Nothing!" Aylene said quickly, and harshly.

Ducky, who was pretty skittish before, finally lost her nerve.

"That settles it!" she said with worry, throwing her arms up in the air. "I am going back!"

The little swimmer then turned around and began to run in the opposite direction of the tracks. She hadn't gone more than a few feet before Littlefoot bounded after her. He jumped right in front of her, cutting off her line of retreat.

"Wait!" he said in desperation. "Don't you guys see?! We can't go back! It's all up to us now! The only way we can keep the herds together is to find enough food for us all!"

"I don't mind finding food." Ducky whimpered. "I do want to BE food! No!"

"None of us do." Aylene said as she walked up behind them. "And this scares me as much as it scares you, but I have to agree with Littlefoot on this one."

"That's not what you were saying last night." Cera pointed out in a snarky tone.

"Well, I've had some time to think about it." Aylene frowned, shooting Cera an irritated look. "Besides, we can't really turn back at this point. Right now, our best bet is to keep going and hope we find a food source somewhere."

"Exactly." Littlefoot nodded. "Now I suggest we should…"

Littlefoot was cut off by the sound of Spike making sniffing noise. He immediately looked over at the Stegosaurus. Spike was sniffing the air intently. It was obvious to see that he had caught a whiff of a scent that had his undivided attention.

"What is it, Spike?" Littlefoot asked. "Do you smell something?"

Curious as to what the spiketail smelled, Cera began to sniff the air.

"I smell something, too!" she exclaimed.

Littlefoot sniffed the air, too. There was defiantly something in the air that was different from the rocky plain they were walking on.

Although Aylene didn't have a keen sense of smell like the others, she was beginning to hear something. It was faint, but she could just barely make rushing noises from a natural force of nature.

"I can hear something," she said thoughtfully. "It sounds like…"

"Water!" Littlefoot joyfully exclaimed.

"Yeah, you're right!" Cera smiled.

"And where there's water, there's probably…"

"Plants!" Aylene shouted in elation. "We've got to be near a lake or something! C'mon!"

With this newfound motivation and hope, the Gang all set out running toward the sound where the waves were coming from. Spike picked Ducky up with his mouth and tossed her onto his back before he set out running after the others. Even Aylene, who was the slowest of the bunch, somehow found the willpower to keep up with them at a decent rate.

The ground underneath them slowly began to change from rock to sand as they drew closer to the source of the noise. They eventually came to the foot of a large sandy hill. Although the slope slowed their pacing down a pit, they still pressed onward to the top as quickly as they could.

"I told you this would work!" Cera grinned. "We'll be heroes!"

"Me can just hear the grown-ups now!" Petrie laughed.

"Yes!" Ducky said, straightening herself up and lowing her voice. " 'My goodness! How in the world have you children finded so much…!' "

Before Ducky could finish her little imitation speech, the Gang reached the top of the hill and stopped. All at the same time, their mouths dropped open and they took in large gasps of air.

At the bottom of the hill, laid before them in a sparkling wonder of awe, was the largest body of water any of them had ever seen. The beach below them stretched from the northern to the southern horizon as far as their eyes could see. The water was just endless. It extended all the way to the western horizon. The waves, large and long, were rushing towards the land, as if wanting to meet up with it as soon as it could in a whirl of blue and white colors.

"I don't believe it!" Aylene whispered in astonishment. "We made it all the way to the ocean!"

Aylene had been to the ocean at least twice in her life. Each time she saw it, she was captivated by its amazing and mysterious appearance. It was both beautiful and terrifying.

"The ocean?" Littlefoot asked. "Is that what you call this?"

"Yeah," Aylene nodded, "it's the largest body of water in the world. Where I come from we have four oceans."

"Four?!" Cera's eye's widened in disbelief. "Then you must not have to worry about running out of water!"

"Oh!" Aylene jolted, suddenly hit with a cold, hard reality.

"What is it, Aylene?" Littlefoot said with concerned. He had seen that look on Aylene's face often enough to know what it meant.

"Guys," Aylene said, despair slipping into her voice, "we can't drink this water."

"What do you mean?!" Ducky asked, shocked.

"Sea water is salty." Aylene explained miserably. "It's not meant for drinking. I'm sorry, but I think…we've come at the end of the road."

This made everyone's spirits plummet. They had done this for nothing.

Littlefoot hung his head sadly as he walked down the hill toward the sea with the others. When he reached the bottom, he sat down, completely disheartened.

"I guess we have gone as far as we can go," he mumbled.

"Aw, cheer up, Littlefoot." Cera said, trying to sound optimistic.

"Our parents will find us soon." Ducky pointed out. "They will."

"Ducky right." Petrie added. "We leave good trail."

"Yeah," Littlefoot clenched, "and then we'll be right back where we were. No food and our families about to split up forever."

Tired, miserable, and devoid of all hope, the Gang all stood there with sad faces. Aylene took off her sandels and walked a little ways off to stand on the shore of the sea. The cool water lapped up against her hot feet and splashed against her ankles. The salty air of the ocean gently whipped up into her face, swaying her hair lightly in its breeze.

Tears began to rise up in her eyes as she stared out over the never-ending water. For a moment, she forgot about her fear of meeting up with vengeful predators. All she could think about was the fact that she and her friends had failed in their quest. Any moment now the adults and her brother would appear over the hill behind them, and they would be even more cross than before. The herds were definitely going to split up for good this time.

_"Derek is going kill me when he finds us,"_ she thought miserably to herself. _"And we have nothing to show but our failure. If only…"_

"GREEN!"

Aylene jolted when she heard that word screamed out in a voice of jubilation. She whirled around and saw Ducky standing on top of Spike. They were both standing on a formation of rocks that rose up above the waves. The little swimmer had a huge smile on her face and was waving her arms wildly about to get the others attention.

"There is green!" she happily shrieked. "Spike finded it! Come and see!"

Immediately, Littlefoot, Aylene, Cera, and Petrie rushed over and climbed up onto the rocks. When they saw that Ducky and Spike were looking at, the hope that they had lost before suddenly rushed back to them faster than the speed of light.

About a mile or two out to sea, directly under a patch of light like a sign from heaven, was a large island with a mountain rising up out of the middle of it. All over the landmass were large areas of forest green blotches. This meant that there was vegetation growing on that island.

"I don't believe it!" Aylene laughed, completely overjoyed. "Our luck hasn't run out after all!"

"Way to go, Spike!" Littlefoot said to the spiketail, who beamed with pride.

"Mmmm, it all looks delicious." Cera said as she looked at the island ahead of them. "But…how do we get there from here."

Petrie looked over to his right and noticed something. Wanting to get a better look, he flew up into the sky just a little ways above the others.

"I know!" he screeched. "You can walk!"

"How?!" Cera shouted back up at him.

Petrie pointed with his wing. The rest of the Gang turned to where he was pointing and saw the last thing they were expecting.

"A land bridge!" Aylene exclaimed.

Indeed, it WAS a land bridge. It was about four feet wide and was raised just a little bit out of the ocean. It curved around gently as it got further away from the mainland. The end of the path met up with the base of the island.

"Well, what do you say, guys?" Littlefoot asked, turning toward his friends. "Should we go?"

"I say yes." Aylene nodded. "It'll do us no good just to stand around here. Especially since we're going to need to replenish our strength. I'm willing to bet that there's fresh water on that island, too."

"I agree with Aylene." Cera said. "I say we go for it."

"Me too." Ducky replied eagerly.

Spike gave an approving grunt.

"Petrie in!" Petrie shouted from above.

"Okay then." Littlefoot stepped towards the beginning of the bridge. "Let's get going."

With that, the Gang all set out along the path that would take them to the mysterious island ahead of them.


	9. Chapter 8: The Mysterious Island

**The Mysterious Island**

The walk across the land bridge wasn't so easy as the Gang had previously thought. For one thing, the path wasn't straight and wide. It was curved and narrow. This meant that the group had to walk in single-file. Littlefoot led the way, Cera followed close behind him, and Spike followed close behind her. Aylene rode on Littlefoot's back, Ducky rode on Spike, and Petrie flew above them all.

The land bridge was also riddled with loose stones and slippery with seawater. And while the ocean was relatively calm, waves still splashed up onto the path, soaking their feet and making the rocks all the more slick. This made Littlefoot, Cera, and Spike walk slowly and cautiously. More than once, Littlefoot nearly lost his footing and fell into the ocean.

It was becoming so frequent that Aylene wasn't even sitting up on Littlefoot anymore. She was almost lying down and clutching onto his skin tightly to prevent herself from falling off.

"It's a lot farther away than it looks." Littlefoot said, panting heavily.

"No kidding." Cera replied wearily. "This is like waiting for your hatch day. It never seems to get any closer."

"Wait," Aylene blinked, her voice spiking in mild amazement, "you guys can remember the time you still in an egg?"

"Yeah, kind of." Cera said. "Don't you?"

"Uh, no." Aylene replied slowly and uncomfortably. "Humans don't hatch from eggs."

"Really?" Littlefoot turned his head, his eyes slightly widened in disbelief. "Then how were you born?"

At that question, Aylene tensed up. Her face turned beet red with near-unbearable embarrassment and she frowned when she realized just exactly what she said. This was quickly heading to a really, REALLY awkward topic that she really didn't want to talk about. She didn't even have to turn back to the others to know that they were looking at her for an explanation. She could practically feel their eyes staring at her with curiosity.

_"Me and my big mouth!"_ she thought grudgingly to herself.

The best way she could avoid this was to just be honest.

"Look, I really don't want to talk about this," she said. "Let's just say humans are born in a different way and leave it at that. Besides, I don't have little next to no memory of my life before I was four."

"Oh c'mon, Aylene!" Cera said with irritation. "Why do you always do that?! You bring up a subject and then you try to change it?!"

"Trust me, Cera, this is a topic that you DON'T want to know until you're older!" Aylene replied with a low growl. "And I'm NOT kidding!"

Cera was about to argue some more, for now Aylene had gotten her really curiously. However, at this particular moment, nature was about to do something that would make them forget about this subject completely.

Slowly but surely, the earth began to rumble. It started off as a light tremor with the sound of something like a distant thunderstorm. However, it began to grow stronger.

"Uh guys," Ducky said nervously, "I think this is a...!"

Suddenly, the whole earth and sea shook with a violent jolt. The Gang all lost their footing and fell face down onto the land bridge.

"EARTHQUAKE!" Ducky screamed.

There was no denying it. This WAS an earthquake! And a strong one at that!

Littlefoot just barely managed to fight against the vibrations and get to his feet. Aylene was clutching his skin so hard that her knuckles had turned white. The two of them looked behind them…

…And saw something that made their blood run cold.

Since the earthquake happened in the middle of the ocean, it caused the water to react with it. And unfortunately, this caused the water's waves to collide with the land bridge and with each other.

So what Littlefoot and Aylene found themselves looking at was an enormous…

"TIDAL WAVE!" Aylene screamed in terror. "RUN!"

Littlefoot, Cera, and Spike immediately set out in a dead sprint while Petrie flapped his wings violently to gain speed. That wave was gigantic and powerful, like some kind of menace from the bottom of the sea towering over them.

On top of that, the earth was still trembling from the force of the earthquake, making it hard for them to run. This wasn't a force they could battle. If that wave caught them in its grip, they would be washed away and no doubt drown.

Their only hope was to somehow out-run it and get to higher ground before it was too late.

Although that wave was far behind them, it was quickly catching up to them grimly fast. It was only a minute or so before it would reach them.

If that happened, it would be good-bye Land Before Time, hello afterlife!

However, for some reason, luck had a way of turning in the Gang's favor.

With fear-fueled adrenaline powering them, they were quickly approaching the end of the road. On top of that, the path was leading up a slope that would take them to a level that was out of reach of the wave's grasp.

Since it would be hard for Aylene to hang onto Littlefoot while he climbed up the slope, she slipped off his back and began to climb up. Being the smallest, lightest, and having longer limbs than the others, she was able to scale the cliff face fairly easily. It was also helpful that the steep was just at the right angle so that she and the others had little difficulty trudging up it.

Petrie flew up to the top just as Aylene hoisted herself up. She then turned around to help pull Littlefoot up as best as she could. However, Littlefoot's foreleg and back leg muscles were stronger than Aylene's and he was able to push himself up with little problem. As soon as he was up on the ledge, he turned around to help Cera. He glanced up only for a moment to see where the tidal wave was.

To his screaming terror, it was just seconds away and closing in!

The moment Cera was heaved up, she, Littlefoot, and Aylene all pulled their strength together to help Spike and Ducky. The tidal wave was now just ten seconds away from reaching them. If it caught the spiketail and swimmer while they were still on the ledge, they would be swept away in its current.

At the very last second, the group managed to pull their friends to safety and stumbled back as the wave crashed into the side of the cliff with a tremendous "SPLASH". The group fell to their stomachs and laid flat down as droplets of seawater showered down on them. They all trembled from the both the shakes of the earth and from the terror of the moment.

Eventually, the event slowly passed, and the earthquake came to a stop. They all slowly sat up, breathing heavily, and looked out over the sea.

"That was too close." Littlefoot exhaled.

"No kidding." Aylene replied. "Is everyone alright?"

"I think so." Cera nodded shakily.

After the Gang all sighed with relief, they remembered where they had ended up. They turned their heads at the same time and hope spread throughout their bodies faster than the speed of light.

Right in front of them with the sun shining off of its lush green leafs, was an endless of forest of tall trees and dense bushes.

At the very first sight of this, they whole Gang laughed and raced into the forest without a second thought. At last, they had found the food source they were looking for.

However, the moment they were in and among the trees, Cera noticed something. It was a smell. It wasn't like the smell of any plant she knew of in the Great Valley. It was like an alien smell mixed in with the scent of vegetation.

Almost immediately at the same time, she noticed that a bush nearby had leafs that looked very different from any she was familiar with.

"What is all this stuff?" she questioned out loud. "It doesn't look like any kind of food I've ever seen."

Everyone fell silent.

"Now that you mention it, these plants are kind of different." Littlefoot pointed out, squinting as a low, dangling strand of foliage in front of him.

"Yeah, it smells icky." Ducky said, wrinkling her nose in discuss as she smelled a small shrub.

"Look funny, too." Petrie pointed out.

Aylene looked at all the plants and narrowed her eyes. She couldn't quite explain why, but something about all these plants felt familiar to her. It was like she had seen them somewhere before. But where?

It wasn't until Littlefoot licked the greenery he was staring at that it clicked.

For after he did, he said with mild shock, "Hold on! I've tasted something like this before! This kind of tastes like the leafs Aylene gave me when I ended up in her world by accident!"

Aylene's eyes widened and she drew in a sharp breath of air. Now that Littlefoot mentioned it, this vegetation WAS familiar to her.

They were all plants from HER world!

"I don't believe it!" she exclaimed. "These are all plants from MY world!"

"Really?!" Cera said in disbelief. "Are you sure?!"

"Yeah," the human girl nodded, "I recognized most of them. I don't know all their names specifically, but I do recognize them. But…what heck are all of these plants doing here?"

"Quite honestly, I don't care as long as they are edible." Cera shrugged. It was clear she quickly lost interest in the mystery. Mostly likely it was because she was so hungry.

"I've had Earth plants before." Littlefoot pointed out. "They do have a strange taste, but they are at least edible. I think we should be okay. And besides, this is all there is."

"Well, if you say so." Ducky said.

Hesitantly, the dinosaur children all began to munch on the vegetation that they liked best. It took them a while to get used to the strange flavor. However, their hunger was stronger than their resistance to anything new. Eventually, they found that the Earth vegetation was quite good and began to eat it a little more greedily. Spike was the only one who didn't seem to have a problem with trying this new source of food. He just ate whatever vegetation he could fit into his mouth.

Meanwhile, Aylene walked around the forest, staying within earshot of her friends. She was staring in wonder and bewilderment at all the trees and plants surrounding her. She wasn't really a specialist on trees and plants, except for identifying things like poison ivy and poison oak. Still, she knew an Earth plant when she saw one.

There was no mistake about it. These were definitely plants that she would find in her world.

But why were they in this world? And why were they on this island? Was this island once in Earth and somehow ended up here through some kind of freak accident? Or did humans that had come before her planted them here? But why just on this island? What was so special about this place that it would be a home to all these plants?

"I guess all that matters is that we found more food," she shrugged. "After all, I doubt there are any humans around here who can tell me. I should get back to the others. The sooner we get back to the mainland and tell the grown-ups the better."

However, right after she had voiced the idea aloud, reality smacked right back into her like a brick. The path that they had taken to get here couldn't possibly have survived that earthquake. And if that was true…

She jolted in alarm and began to run back to the edge where she and the others just came from.

When she reached the place, she found that the others were also looking out over the ocean. Upon hearing her footsteps, they all turned to look at her. All of them had worried expressions painted on their faces. That was enough to tell the human girl that something was horribly wrong.

"Aylene!" Littlefoot said. His voice filled with shock and worry. "We've got a problem! The land bridge is gone!"

Aylene looked out over the vast ocean and her heart sank right down into her toes. The land bridge was completely and utterly gone. There was no piece of it left. The earthquake and tidal wave had sent it down into the depths of the sea.

The Gang was stranded on the mysterious island.

* * *

Matters were about to get even worse from that moment forward. For unbeknownst to the Gang, no sooner after they realized that their way back to the mainland had been destroyed, a large plated biter came up over the sand hills.

His nostrils were filled with the scent of the ones who had defeated Sharptooth, and he was hot on their trail. He had quickened his pace last night when he discovered that they had left the adults behind for some reason. Whatever the case may have been, he didn't care. All that was on his mind at this point was finding those kids and claiming the title of "Walking Terror".

However, when he came upon the ocean and saw that the recent earthquake had destroyed the land strip that led to the island, he snarled in disgust. He was close. He knew he was close. He knew those kids were on that island. He could smell them. They were just within his grasp.

He wasn't going to give up his prize so easily.

With a frustrated snort, he began walking northward along the shore of the sea. He was going to find a way onto that island, one way or another.


	10. Chapter 9: Brave the Waves

**Brave the Waves**

At about high noon, the Great Valley herd came up over the sandy hills and down to the beach below. They were all winded and tired from their haste. Since they knew the Gang had a full night's head start, they would all have to walk at a fast pace if they were to have any chance of catching up with them.

However, when they reached the ocean, and saw that the footprints of the young ones had vanished into the waves, their spirits fell.

They could see an island in the distance, but the land bridge that had once connected it to the mainland had been destroyed. And they all knew that even the Gang would have enough common sense to not risk a swim that far, especially across an uncharted ocean.

As far as the Great Valley herd could see, they had hit a roadblock in their search for the young ones.

"Doggone it, Aylene!" Derek grumbled, irritated. "If you wanted us to follow you, you could've at least avoided walking into the ocean!"

Grandma Longneck noticed the human boy's downhearted spirit and lowered his head to his level.

"Don't worry, Derek," she said caringly. "I'm sure we'll find them."

Derek frowned and groaned. As much as he wanted to believe those words, he couldn't bring himself to do so. This wasn't like the time he first came to this world. At least that time he knew that he and Aylene were in a safe place. But now, they were outside of the Great Valley, and the world was much more dangerous. It was just sheer luck that they didn't encounter any predators yet.

But goodness knows how long their luck would hold out.

And Derek's irritation only got more intense when Topps marched up behind him with a scowl on his face.

"This is all your fault, Derek!"

"What'd I do?!" Derek snapped, turning sharply around.

"You have zero control over that sister of yours, that's what!" Topps roared. "My daughter's gone all because of Aylene and Littlefoot! Those two just cause trouble wherever they go!"

That's when Derek lost his temper.

"Don't go blaming my sister or her friends for anything!" he yelled. "If you hadn't been such a hot-head yesterday they probably wouldn't have left the herd in the first place! You should've seen this coming the moment you opened your big mouth!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" the Triceratops raged.

Before the two could argue anymore, Grandpa Longneck stepped in between the two of them. The look on his face was stern.

"That's enough, both of you!" he ordered forcefully before turning to the human boy. "Derek, I understand your frustration, but you mustn't lash out at your elders like that!"

"I'm sorry, Grandpa Longneck." Derek mumbled, bringing his temper under control again. His face turned red with embarrassment.

"And Mr. Threehorn," the elder Apatosaurus looked back at Triceratops, "I know you're worried about Cera, but I'm know we'll find them! They probably just walked in the shallows of the water!"

Topps gave an unsatisfied grunt as Grandpa Longneck continued, "In the meantime, we should keep searching."

Seeing as this was their only option, the herd set out again. They walked close to the shoreline and kept their eyes open for any sign of footprints or vegetation. There was no doubt in their minds that if they found plant-life, they would also find the lost young ones.

As they walked on, Derek jolted his head up when he was sure he heard something. It wasn't the wind or the waves crashing onto the sandy beach, it was something else. He turned his head in the direction he of the island and squinted.

What was that sound? Was it coming from that island?

It was at this moment Derek wished he had binoculars. He couldn't quite see what was going on over there. That is if anything was going on, or if the heat was starting to get to him and he was just hearing things. Besides, that sound was so faint that it could easily be his imagination.

Disheartened, the boy turned away and ran to catch up with the rest of the herd.

However, if Derek had looked out in that direction a little longer, then he would've seen an ominous grey fin spike up above the surface of the ocean like a knife. But by the time he turned to look back out over the sea again, it disappeared beneath the waves.

* * *

"HEY!"

"HELP!"

"OVER HERE!"

"CAN ANYONE HEAR US?!"

"HELP US!"

"WE'RE OVER HERE!"

Standing on the edge of a cliff that dropped straight down into the ocean, the whole Gang was shouting and screaming as loud as they could to get the attention of the herd on the mainland.

Using her monocular, Aylene was able to spot them as they came over the sand hills just moments ago. Ever since then, they had been calling out to their loved ones in the hopes of getting their attention.

Aylene's heart nearly leapt for joy when she saw that Derek had turned in their direction. However, it immediately plummeted down into her toes when she watched him look away. He was so close. If he had just waited and listened a little longer, then maybe he would've heard them.

But by now, Aylene was seeing that the herd was moving on, completely unaware that they had just walked right past the ones they had set out to find.

"It's too late," she told the others, miserably. "They've moved on."

Upon hearing that, the young dinosaurs stopped shouting. Their faces turned to despair.

"It wouldn't have mattered anyway." Cera said miserably. "Even if they did hear us, there's no way they'd be able to get over here. The bridge is out."

"You got a point, Cera." Littlefoot replied in the same tone. "I'm afraid we're stuck here."

"So we stuck here forever?!" Petrie said, panicked.

"No, of course not." Aylene replied calmly. "We just need to come up with a Plan B. Let's go back to the watering hole. After shouting like that, we all need a drink. And maybe that'll help clear our heads."

The Gang all agreed to that plan of action. In a few minutes, they were all sitting around the watering hole and lapping up the cool liquid. Since they were all concerned about how they were going to escape the island, they were being very slow while taking their drinks.

Meanwhile, Aylene was sitting on a nearby rock and was using a stick to doodle something in the dirt. It wasn't really suppose to be any kind of shape, she just had to do something while she thought over the next possible plan.

"What are you doing, Aylene?" Littlefoot asked when he came up behind her.

"I'm trying to figure out a way to get off this island," she said, her eyes fixed firmly on the dirt in front of her. "Of course, that's a lot easier said than done. As Cera said before, the grown-ups won't be able to follow us here even if they did know where we are. So we have to go to them. Unfortunately, with the bridge destroyed, that really limits our options."

"You think we could swim back?" the long-neck suggested.

"Uh-uh," Aylene replied, shaking her head, "too risky. There's about a mile or two of water between us and the mainland. I doubt even Ducky could make it that far. And Spike isn't very good at swimming either. Not to mention, we don't know what's out in that sea. Swimming just won't be safe. Petrie's probably the only one of us who can make it back. However, even if he did and told the others were we are, there's not really anything they can do given the circumstances."

Aylene then lowered her head and held it in her hand, "We'll think of something, just give me a minute."

Cera was flicking some sticks around in the pond with her forepaw, but she couldn't help but overhear the conversation that was going on just a few yards away from her.

"Too bad we can't just walk on the water," she said sarcastically. "That would certainly make things a lot easier."

After hearing that, Aylene's head snapped up and her eyes were wide. She looked over her shoulder at the little Triceratops.

"Cera, what did you just say?" Aylene asked hastily.

"I said it's too bad we can't walk on water." Cera repeated.

Aylene's eyes then darted to the sticks floating on the surface of the pond. Something began to sparkle in her eyes as she stared at them. It was like they were revealing the brainstorm that was going on inside of it.

"Walk on water," she whispered pensively.

Suddenly, as if a soda bottle that had Mentos dropped into it, Aylene leapt off the rock with a spontaneous burst of energy and laughed in triumph. This made Littlefoot step back in such surprised alarm that he almost fell over.

"That's it!" Aylene shouted joyously. "Cera, you're a genius!"

"Wh-What I'd do?!" the three-horn stuttered, confused.

"You just gave me a great idea, that's what you did!" Aylene replied, clapping her hands together.

She then turned to address the others, "Littlefoot, Cera, Spike, I need you to gather up as many logs as you can. Make sure they are as big as you can possibly manage. Ducky, you and I are going to see if we can find anything we can use as rope. Petrie, I need you to fly along the coast and see if there's a beach we can use to cast off."

"Uh," Littlefoot blinked, "what kind of plan do you have in mind?"

"You can thank Cera for that." Aylene grinned. "It was those sticks she was playing with that gave me the inspiration. It's so simple and obvious, but it just might work. I'll explain more once we get our materials together. Now move out!"

On that command, even the others were greatly confused as to what Aylene had in mind, they all split up to preform the tasks they were given. Littlefoot, Cera and Spike began to search the forest for any fallen logs that were large, but also movable. Meanwhile, Aylene and Ducky found a bunch of thick green vines that could easily be used as rope and began to collect as many as they could.

Petrie flew high above the trees and began to scan the island down below. It wasn't long before his keen eyes caught the glimpse of a strip of pale sand just a little distance away from where the others were. The moment, he saw that, he flew back to his friends.

"Me see a beach!" he squawked as he hovered over them. "Just that way!"

He pointed with his wing to the northeast.

"Awesome work, Petrie!" Aylene encouraged. "Let's get down there and get to work!"

"Get to work on what?!" Cera asked, exasperated by the human's lack of explanation for all the excitement.

"Building a raft!" Aylene gave a huge smile.

"A raft?!" the other five exclaimed.

"Yeah, we can use it to sail across the water," the human explained. "See, wood's density is less than water, so that makes it very buoyant and able to stay afloat on water. And we can spread out combined weight over the water by tying all these logs together with this rope. And if we find something we can use as paddles, we can sail over the water and make it back to mainland."

The others stared at her with blank expressions for a moment. Mostly because she used her "sophisticated vocabulary" on them again, and they didn't even understand half of what she said.

Littlefoot was the one to speak up first, and he summed up what his fellow dinosaurs were thinking.

"So basically, you're saying that we can get across ocean by tying all of these logs together?" he questioned, his voice sounding just slightly detached.

"Exactly!" Aylene said cheerfully, completely unaware that she had blown their minds. "Now come on, let's get to work!"

With that, the Gang worked together to get the supplies down to the beach. Once Petrie had successfully guided them down to the shore, Littlefoot, Cera and Spike all arranged the logs the way Aylene instructed. After that, Aylene and Ducky began to work together to tie all of the logs securely together.

In about an hour or so, they had created a makeshift raft just large enough for all of them to ride on.

And after Aylene found a slap of wood that would be a good substitute for an oar, they pushed it out into the shallows. Once it was free from the clutches of the sand, they all leapt on. Using their tails as paddles, Littlefoot, Cera and Spike propelled the raft across the surface of the sea. Aylene, who was taking up the back, used her stick to help steer as well as a source of additional power.

At last, they were heading back to the mainland.


	11. Chapter 10: A Terrifying Encounter

**A Terrifying Encounter**

For a while, the journey over the ocean was rather pleasant. The only thing that prevented it from being decent for Cera was that the choppy waves had gotten to her and she was beginning to feel seasick. She stopped paddling and just laid flat down on the raft, moaning and doing everything she could not to throw up.

"Just try to hang in there until we get to the mainland, Cera." Aylene said with gentle encouragement. "At this rate, we'll be there soon."

Cera just replied with a dizzy moan.

"How are you guys holding up?" the human asked as she turned to Littlefoot and Spike.

"We're okay." Littlefoot replied. "How about you?"

"I'm good. Whoa, here's comes a big wave. Brace yourselves."

Shortly after Aylene had given the warning, a big wave came under the little raft and lifted it up high into the air for a moment. As the wave dove downwards, the raft tilted to the side for a split second. This caught everyone off guard and they soon found themselves sliding on the logs to try and regain their balance.

Petrie was thrown off balance so badly that he slipped off the raft itself. Not having enough time to save himself with his wings, he plunged into the water with a shriek.

"PETRIE!" was the startled response from everyone.

The moment they noticed their friend missing, everyone began to franticly scan all over the sides of the raft for any sign of him.

"Did you see which side he fell off of?!" Littlefoot asked urgently.

"No!" Ducky replied worriedly. "Oh, I hope he's okay! He's a flyer, not a swimmer!"

Aylene, deeply concerned for the little Pteranodon, was about to take off her gym bag, quiver and bow and dive into the water to search for him, when Petrie came shooting out of the water like leaping salmon. He was screaming at the top of his voice and his eyes were full of terror. The moment he was up in the air, he shot forward and grabbed ahold of the closest thing he could, which to be Cera's nose horn. This sudden action caused the Triceratops to stumble back and fall over onto her rump. She looked over at Petrie and saw that he was trembling violently.

"What's your problem?!" she asked rather bluntly.

Petrie tried to respond, but he was so freaked out by what he saw in the water that he couldn't even speak. All that came out was a bunch of stutters.

However, the Gang was able to pick up on one word.

Sharp.

"Sharp-what?!" Littlefoot asked, becoming even more worried.

"S-SH-SHARP…TOOTH!" Petrie finally squawked.

"Sharp-tooth?!" everyone shouted in alarm.

It was then that something out of the corner of Aylene's eye caught her attention. She turned her head sharply to see what it was…and all the courage went out of her.

A large, grey fin was circling around the little raft. It was tall, curved, and jagged.

Aylene had seen this kind of fin before, but never in person. There was no mistaking what kind of animal that belonged to. As much as Aylene wished she was wrong, there was no denying she and her friends were in serious trouble.

"What's wrong, Aylene?!" Littlefoot asked, seeing his friend frozen. "You've gone pale!"

Aylene's voice died in her throat. She could hardly even breath. All she could do was shakily raise her arm and point to the fin circling them. The moment the others saw it, they all screamed in fear.

"What is that?!" Ducky cried out.

As if to answer that question, the creature rose up out of the sea right next to the raft, knocking it and sending it into a spin. Everyone screamed as the sudden attack startled them. For a split second, they all caught a glimpse of the monster that attacked them before is splashed back down into the water. They all saw two of its most predominate features: marble black eyes that looked dead and mindless, and a mouth loaded of razor sharp teeth. Way more than any land predator they had ever seen.

And for Aylene, that looked a lot like another kind of sea creature in her world. Only this was one was so much bigger.

Just seeing it made her voice shift gears.

"IT'S A MEGALODON SHARK!" she screamed in terror. "WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!"

The moment that command was given, Littlefoot, Cera, and Spike immediately plunged their tails into the water and paddled as hard as they could. Aylene looked back for a moment to see where the Megalodon was, and a cold fear struck through her when she saw it turn around and head straight for them. She had seen this kind of predatory behavior before.

It was _pursuing _them!

"FASTER, FASTER!" the human shrieked. "HE'S GAINING ON US!"

Nearly stricken with panic, the three dinosaurs began to us all their forepaws to help gain more speed. That creature was made for the water, and they weren't. They were sitting ducks out here. If that thing were to catch up with them, they would be goners for sure.

At this point, they didn't care what direction they were going in. The only thing that was on their minds was, "LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"

All the while, Aylene kept looking back at the Megalodon to make sure she knew where it was. The only thing Aylene could remember about sharks was that they were silent hunters. If she turned her back for even a second, there would be a possibility that it would dive below the waves and attack them from underneath.

And much to her cold-blooded shock, it did just that.

"BRACE YOURSELF!" Aylene cried. "IT'S GOING TO ATTACK FROM BELOW!"

A second after Aylene finished that statement, there was a violent blow from below that shattered the raft into pieces, and sent the whole Gang flying up into the air for a few yards before they fell into the water. For one awful moment, they thought that this was end of them.

However, the minute they all went under, they were greeted by sand.

They had somehow ended up in shallow water.

They all quickly surfaced to grab mouthfuls of air and looked back to see if the Megalodon was still after them.

They caught a glimpse of its jagged fin for a brief moment before it turned around and disappeared beneath the azure waves.

For a while, the Gang sat in the shallow water, panting heavily as they tried to calm the racing of their hearts.

"That was close." Littlefoot said, shaken.

"You can say that again." Cera exhaled deeply. "I thought we were goners for sure."

"I'm just glad we got away." Ducky said. "I am, I am."

The group then looked around to see if they had made it within range of the mainland. However, the moment the caught sight of the lush green vegetation growing on the land just a few yards away from them, they realized what had happened.

The shark had turned them around completely and they had ended up back at the mysterious island.

They looked in the opposite direction and saw that their goal destination was still as far away as before.

What's worse, their raft was destroyed. While there was the possibility of making new one, none of them wanted to dare set foot in the deeper parts of the ocean after that shark attack.

"Oh, c'mon." Cera groaned. "We're back to where we started."

"Well, at least we're safe from whatever that thing was." Littlefoot pointed out. "Right, Aylene?"

Aylene didn't answer.

"Hey, Aylene, what's wrong?" Petrie asked the human girl.

Everyone looked to see why Petrie asked that question, and were shocked by what they saw.

Aylene was sitting in the water, curled up into a ball, and shivering violently. Her hands were up over her face and she was making little whimpering noise.

The others widened their eyes in surprise when they realized that she was crying.

"Aylene, what's wrong?" Littlefoot asked. "Why are you crying?"

Aylene couldn't respond, she just sobbed even more. At this point, she was so freaked out by the encounter with a shark that she didn't care the others were watching her. It scared her even more than her fear of heights. She couldn't seem to control herself. Her fear of encountering a shark of that magnitude manifested itself into tears and she just had to let them out.

Littlefoot waded through the water and stood next to her. He lowered his head to her level and wrapped his neck around her shoulders for comfort. Feeling her friend beside her, Aylene turned around and wrapped her arms around the base of his neck.

"It's okay, Aylene." Littlefoot said gently. "It's over now. We're fine. C'mon, let's just get back to shore. I'll carry you on my back if you want."

Aylene nodded in response.

Slowly, she managed to find the strength to get to her feet long enough to climb onto the Apatosaurus's back. As they all waded through the salty ocean water and up to the sandy beach, Aylene's sobbing began to subside. Now she just felt weak and numb. The moment of terror had passed, but she was still quivering a bit from the shock of it all.

Although once she had calm down a bit, she was glad that she and her friends were alive and unharmed.

* * *

Later that night, the Great Valley herd had found a place to rest.

However, Topps was too restless to settle down. Instead, he stood at the edge of the sea while the others slumbered behind the sand dunes. For a while, he just stood there alone, staring out over the star-reflecting sea. His thoughts were solely on his daughter, and the constant worry of where she was and if she was even alive.

"Hey," a voice said from behind.

Topps turned his head as far as he could to see who had spoken and saw Derek walk up next to him.

"What do you want, Derek?" he growled, unsure of why this human was here.

"I just wanted to apologize for my behavior before." Derek said with sincerity. "It was disrespectful, and I won't make any excuses. I just want you to know I'm sorry."

Topps fell silent and his expression softened. He looked away and closed his eyes, letting out humbled exhale.

"No, I'm sorry," he said. "I just…I just had to blame someone at that moment. I didn't mean what I said, I was just mad."

"I know," Derek replied "I understand. But me lashing out like that didn't help things. I'm just worried about my sister. And I know you're worried about Cera."

Topps lowered his head. He looked like he had something that he wanted to get off his chest.

Finally, he looked at the human and said, "Cera's the only family I have left. If anything happened to her…I don't know what I'd do."

Derek gave a look of sympathy at that confession. He remembered what Grandpa Longneck had told him about Topps losing his whole family during and accident to the Great Valley, and how much that crushed the poor Triceratops. It was also why he was always on a short fuse whenever the issue of his daughter being in potential danger came up. He didn't want to lose her.

Caringly, Derek reached out his hand and placed on the edge of Topps's frill. This gesture caused the three-horn to look over at the human.

"Don't worry." Derek said. "I'm certain she's alive somewhere. She and the others have made it through worse trials and they've always come home. They can do it again. After all, she just as strong as her father."

It wasn't much, but that small speech was enough to give Topps a little bit of hope. He nodded graciously at the human before looking back out over the sea.

He truly, deeply hoped that Derek was right.

Derek hoped that he was right, too. He hoped that his sister and her friends were all safe somewhere.

* * *

Aylene sat alone on the sand under the glow of the full moon. She hugged her legs in close and her eyelids drooped with both weariness and sadness. She didn't want to cry anymore, but she couldn't shake away this horrible feeling clinging to her.

"Hey, you okay?" a voice said from behind.

Aylene didn't turn her head to look. Her eyes just darted to the side and an image of Cera appeared in her mind.

The Triceratops walked up beside the human and laid down next to her.

"I'm guessing that swimming sharp-tooth attack really freaked you out, huh?" Cera said.

"It's called a Megalodon shark." Aylene replied sullenly.

"Whatever it's called, I'm surprised that it scared you like that," the Triceratops admitted. "You never get scared like that."

Aylene hugged her legs even tighter.

"I'm afraid of sharks, okay," she whimpered. "I always have been. You saw that thing: it looked so mindless and hunger-driven. I just hate that. It scares me even more than facing T-Rexes, or heights."

Aylene then shut her eyes and lowered her head in shame.

"And I'm embarrassed about you guys seeing in such a pitiful state," she confessed bitterly. "I'm suppose to be the strong one. I'm the oldest of the group. I shouldn't break down like that."

It was then that that Aylene felt something nudge her arm. She looked over and saw Cera tuck her head under her arm. Soon, Aylene's arm draped over Cera's neck and she was looking right into the Triceratops's caring face.

"It's okay." Cera said gently. "You once told me that we all get scared. But isn't they why we are a herd? So we can lean on each other when we're afraid? Because when we are all together, there's not much to be afraid of, 'cause we have each other. And just because you're the oldest doesn't mean we can't help you. If you are ever afraid and you gotta say something, just tell us and we'll help you."

Aylene stared at Cera for a moment with comforting surprise. Cera had never really talked like this towards her before. And it didn't feel like she was putting on an act or something of that nature. It was very genuine and sincere. That alone was enough to make Aylene smile.

"Thanks, Cera," she said tearfully, wrapping her arms around the little three-horn and embracing her.

Cera responded to that by nuzzling her face against Aylene's hair.

After a moment, the two friends pulled away from each other. They both yawned and realized just how tired they were.

"We should get some sleep." Aylene said drowsily. "We still have to figure out how to get off this island."

"Good idea." Cera nodded.

With that, the human and three-horn got up and walked over to a cluster of rocks, where they found the others nestled down and sleeping soundly.

Cera laid down near the back of a large boulder and immediately fell asleep. Aylene walked over towards Littlefoot and snuggled up against his side. The moment she was comfortable, she closed her eyes and was soon asleep.

She didn't notice Littlefoot open one eye and smile at her. He had overheard the conversation that had gone one between Aylene and Cera. He was planning on going to talk to Aylene himself, but Cera beat him to it. So instead, he hung back and let the two of them talk. He was glad that the Triceratops was somehow able to comfort the human. And the words that Cera had said before resonated with him.

* * *

_"__Because when we are all together, there's not much to be afraid of, 'cause we have each other."_

* * *

Littlefoot had to admit that Cera was right. Even though they were lost and afraid, they weren't alone. They still had each other. And together, they would find a way home.

With this comforting thought in his mind, he dozed off.


	12. Chapter 11: An Unexpected Reunion

**An Unexpected Reunion**

The next morning, the sun rose up over the edge of the mountain, casting its rays down onto the earth below.

When the light came over Aylene's face, she winced and slowly opened her eyes. She had to cover them with hand for a moment, as the light temporary blinded her. Once she had gotten used to the sunlight, she sat up and looked around. Judging by the position of the sun, she had to guess that it was somewhere around nine o'clock.

She brushed her hair out of her face and turned her attention to her friends. She gave a soft smile when she saw they were all still asleep.

She carefully got up, not wanting to disturb them, and walked over to retrieve her things.

"Aylene?"

Aylene looked back to see who had spoken to her and saw that Littlefoot was looking at her with a drowsy expression. It was clear to see that he was between sleeping and waking.

"Shh," Aylene whispered. "I'm just going to do some scouting. No need to get up yet. I'll be back in a few minutes."

The long-neck simply nodded before dropping his head back to the ground. In just a few seconds, he was slumbering once again.

Once she had her gym bag and quiver on, Aylene grabbed her bow and began to walk into the forest. Using one of her arrows, she carved "X" marks on a few trees to serve as pathfinders in case she got lost. After all, this island was still unmapped, and it would be easy for her to get turned around with all of the tall trees around. Not to mention, if the others came looking for her, they could easily pick up her trail. Because no one but a human would have the idea of carving signs on trees with an arrowhead.

Aylene hadn't gone more than a few yards into the woods when something caught her attention. She spotted something up ahead in a small clearing and walked over to investigate. It looked like some kind of indentation in the ground. But it also looked rather big.

When Aylene got within a good range of it that she could see it's details, she stopped dead in her tracks and inhaled sharply in fear.

It was a footprint. But not just any footprint. She had seen this shape many times before to know exactly what it was.

It was an adult T-Rex footprint!

Cold sweat began to form on Aylene's forehead. This could only mean that she and her friends were not alone.

Worst of all, this also meant there was a predator on the island.

"I gotta get back to others." Aylene said urgently to herself. "They need to know about this."

No sooner did Aylene voice that idea did she hear a horrible sound.

Her friends screaming in terror!

"GUYS!" the human shrieked in alarm.

Aylene raced back through the forest as fast as he legs could carry her. It wasn't long before she heard the sound of running feet getting closer and closer.

"GUYS!" she shouted. "GUYS!"

In just a few seconds, Littlefoot, Cera, and Spike came charging through the brush at full speed, with Ducky and Petrie were riding on Spike's back.

They all had a look of panic on their faces.

They only stopped when they saw their human friend.

"AYLENE!" Cera cried, breathless and terrified. "PREDATOR…AFTER US!"

"I know!" Aylene replied quickly. "We gotta get out of here!"

Aylene leapt onto Littlefoot's back and they whole group set out running in a dead sprint through the forest.

Eventually, like some kind of omen of doom, the sound of pursuing footsteps drew closer. They were both heavy and fast. This was a clear indication that whatever was chasing them was pretty big.

And to everyone's bone-chilling horror, the predator chasing them started roar. This even terrified Aylene. Normally, Aylene was able to understand the language of predators. However, this time there was no speech, predator or otherwise. It was just roars and growls.

"What does it want, Aylene?!" Littlefoot asked, assuming she could translate the vicious snarls for them.

"I don't know!" Aylene replied. "I can't hear it speak! It's like its possessed!"

That piece of information was enough to make everyone kick their retreating instincts into overdrive. The only thing they could now think of was getting to someplace safe.

They turned a corner…and were stopped by a cliff towering several feet above them. What made it worse was that the rock wall snaked around and cut off any other routes of escape.

They were trapped!

And that predator was closing in!

"Everyone, get behind me!" Aylene ordered, slipping off of Littlefoot and putting an arrow on the string of her bow.

The other huddled together behind the human girl, trembling and whimpering with uncontrollable fear. They had all shut their eyes, not wanting to see the potentially last few horrible moments that were to come.

Aylene swallowed the huge lump in her throat and drew her arrow back as far as she could. She was scared, but she had to be strong and she knew it. She had to at least try to protect her friends. No doubt she would only have one shot at taking down this predator, she would have to make it count.

She wasn't going to freeze up and break down this time. She would face this predator, and she was going to be brave about it.

She was going to defend her friends; even if it meant to the death.

With a few more heavy footsteps, the pursuer came out of the tall grass and into view.

The moment it did, Aylene's jaw dropped and her eyes widened with befuddled shock.

This predator was a T-Rex. But it wasn't a full-grown adult.

It was a _juvenile_ T-Rex!

It was a purplish blue juvenile T-Rex that was about half as tall as Aylene.

The humam girl was so taken aback by this fact that she almost forgot to be afraid of the fact that it had its mouth open in a menacing way, with saliva dripping off of its little fangs.

What she did notice was its eyes. They were both blood red with only a single, small black pupil in the center of each of them. It was like the iris had completely expanded out and covered up the areas where white colors should've been.

Aylene looked straight into those eyes nervously. They were enough to make her skin crawl and spine shiver, even if they were attached to a small body.

They definitely had a killing look in them.

However, the moment the T-Rex made eye contact with Aylene's blue eyes, something unexpected happened.

The irises in the biter's eyes grew smaller and his face turned to surprised recognition. In a matter of seconds, they looked just like the eyes of a creature with a level of both intelligence and compassion.

It was then that Aylene narrowed her eyes and lowered her bow, loosening the tension on the string. Now that the little T-Rex didn't look like it wanted to kill her, there was definitely something…familiar about it.

It looked…innocent?

Wait, she had seen that somewhere before. She was sure it.

Her eyes began to wide with revelation.

"No way," she whispered, "Are you…?"

Before Aylene could even finish her question, the little T-Rex spoke in the voice of a young boy.

"Aylene?"

That was all Aylene needed.

Her face lit up and she let out a cry of joy. There was no mistaking it. She KNEW who this T-Rex was.

"CHOMPER!" she cried with elation. "CHOMPER, IT'S YOU!"

Overcome with happiness and relief, Aylene threw her bow and arrow aside and rushed forward.

Chomper's face spread into a huge smile and he darted to meet her. Aylene fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around Chomper. Chomper laughed and embraced Aylene as much as he little arms would allow him to. He rubbed his face against her soft hair and she petted the back of his head.

"Oh, Chomper!" Aylene laughed, almost crying with happiness. "I can't believe it's you! I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Aylene!" Chomper replied happily.

Hearing the commotion that was going on, Littlefoot opened his eyes and looked over to see what exactly happened.

"Aylene?!" he gasped. "Did you say…?!"

"Guys!" Aylene said as she looked back at them, her smile growing even bigger. "It's Chomper! Chomper's here!"

Upon hearing that, the others looked over with their eyes wide open. Sure enough, Chomper was standing right in front of them.

"CHOMPER!" they all cheered.

They then began to crowd around the little T-Rex. They all both happy and surprise to see him.

He was noticeably bigger and taller than when they last saw him. If was standing next to Littlefoot now, the top of his head would align almost exactly with the arch in the longneck's back. He also had slightly more noticeable muscles in his chest and legs. Not to mention, his snout was slightly longer, and his teeth had gotten longer and thicker.

But his eyes were the same. They had that eager innocence that the Gang had remembered seeing the moment he had first hatched from his egg.

Best of all, he clearly showed he remembered each and every one of his friends.

"Me not see you since you just barely hatched." Petrie squawked happily.

"And now I'm all grown up." Chomper said proudly, puffing himself up to make himself look taller.

"You are a big T-Rex alright," Ducky smiled, "yep, yep, yep."

"It's great to see a familiar face." Littlefoot said.

The long-neck then lowered his head and nuzzled the biter's face. After all that had happened in the past few days, it was great to see a friend in such an unexpected place.

Even if this friend was a carnivore.

"So you live here?" Aylene asked.

"Yep!" Chomper nodded. "Me and mommy and my daddy!"

Everyone's eyes widened at that piece of information.

That's right, if Chomper was here, then there was no doubt that his parents weren't far behind.

They met Chomper's family once before. Needless to say, it wasn't a very nice encounter. It was shortly after Chomper had hatched, the two T-Rexes came into the Great Valley and attacked them. Although the Gang later found out that they were in the Valley because they were looking for their son, that very first impression still left a terrifying image of them in their minds.

Aylene bit her lip when she thought of the footprint she found earlier. That must have been left by one of Chomper's parents.

The question was which one.

Aylene's mind's eye flashed an image of Chomper's father, Strongfang, and she shivered a little.

He was the one she was the wariest of for a number of reasons.

However, Chomper seemed to be completely oblivious of his friends' sudden apprehension. Probably because he was just so happy to see them. It had been a while since he had seen just one friendly face. Now he had his six best friends all around him.

"I missed you guys," he said with a bright smile. "Hey, why don't I show you around? C'mon!"

The little T-Rex grabbed Aylene's arm and began to eagerly pull on it, indicating that he wanted her to follow him.

"O-Oh, okay." Aylene stuttered, getting to her feet.

She then walked over the spot where she had tossed away her bow and arrow and picked them back up before turning to the others.

"Come guys," she said calmly.

The others hesitated.

"What's the matter?" Chomper said cheerfully, still unaware of their nervousness. "C'mon!"

Slowly, the Gang obeyed and began to follow the little biter. Cera hung back with suspicion for a moment, her narrow with suspicion. Finally, she ran to catch up with her friends and began to walk alongside them.

All the while, Chomper kept a beaming smile on his face as he led them through the forest. It was plain to see that he was glad he ran into them when he did.

Curiously, this made Aylene start to think about something.

He looked so innocent and child-like now, but she couldn't help but remember his eyes earlier. They weren't the eyes of someone one looking for their friends because they recognized their scent or something like that. And surely Chomper would've figured out that it was them when he heard them screaming and shouting during the chase. If he did, he would've called out to them, not chase them down into a dead end.

No, that was predatory behavior. And his eyes clearly showed that he had the intention on killing. And that's what made Aylene's blood run cold the most. She had only seen those eyes in one other predator before. He was a T-Rex just like Chomper, only he was a monster.

Sharptooth: the most feared biter of all the biters.

And Aylene knew for a fact that he had a family connection to Chomper.

Aylene had found out a while back that Chomper's father, Strongfang, was actually Sharptooth's brother. This made Chomper his nephew. She kept this secret to herself for the most part. The only person she told was her brother, Derek. And even then, she made him swear to secrecy not to tell the rest of the Gang, or anyone else in the Great Valley about Chomper either. She figured that the less they knew about the little T-Rex, the better off everyone was.

Still, after what happened earlier, she couldn't help but wonder if there was some connection between Sharptooth and the reason why Chomper looked the way he did when he was hunting them.

After all, those two were related. Maybe not directly, but still related nonetheless.

Was there a connection? And if so, what exactly was it?


	13. Chapter 12: Chomper's Decision

**Chomper's Decision**

Chomper happily lead the Gang through the forest with a sure sense of direction. It soon became clear that he had lived on this island for a pretty long time. He knew every single path to take and where every turn led. For the Gang, who had little knowledge of this landmass, it was kind of comforting to have someone who knew they're way around. Even if that "someone" was a little predatory dinosaur.

That said, they couldn't help but feel a small sense of uneasiness. They knew that if Chomper was here, his parents were on the island, too. And they didn't want to accidently run into them.

Aylene could sense this uncomfortable tension and decided to strike up a conversation to help lightened the mood.

"You certainly know your way around here, Chomper," she said, trying to sound casual. "Have you lived here long?"

"Yeah," Chomper answered. "My Daddy brought me and my Mommy here many bright circles ago. We're the only ones who live here. I've had lots of time to explore this place."

"Do you like it here?" Littlefoot asked.

"It's okay," the little biter said, shrugging a little. "Though there's not much to eat."

"'Till now." Cera mumbled begrudgingly.

Although Chomper was too far ahead to hear the Triceratops bitter statement, both Littlefoot and Aylene were close enough. They turned their head's simultaneously and gave warning glares to Cera. As Aylene did, she also mouthed, 'Stick a sock in it, Cera'. That was enough to make the three-horn fall silent, but it didn't stop her from scowling back at her two friends.

But Littlefoot and Aylene did that not just for Chomper's sake, but also for everyone elses. The last thing they needed was a panic attack from anyone in the group. The less they talked about the prospect of getting eaten, the better.

Finally, the group came out of the thicket and into a clearing. The morning sun shone down through the trees and cast abstract shadows on the ground below. All around them, it was naturally quiet. The only sounds that could be heard was the rustling of leafs in the trees and the rushing of water from nearby streams and brooks. The Gang felt more secure.

But that security didn't last very long.

Suddenly, the calm silence was shattered by a sound. For Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike; it was a terrifying roar of a large dinosaur. For Aylene, it was loud but familiar voice that belonged to a female.

**"****Chomper, where are you?!"**

The Gang all stopped dead in their tracks and staggered back. They all began to look around with terror painted on their faces. Aylene grabbed her bow off her shoulder purely out of protective instincts and reached down to her hip for one of her arrows.

Chomper seemed to have noticed their reactions only a little bit. He turned around and gave an encouraging smile.

"Don't worry," he said. "It's just my Mommy."

"Your Mommy?!" the five dinosaurs all exclaimed at the same time.

"Rena." Aylene whispered, shuddering. She remembered that female T-Rex well.

Just then, another roar pieced through the silence. This one was stronger and more powerful than Rena's. It seemed to shake the air with violent force, as if it was some kind of pressure.

And for Aylene, a strong male voice bellowed, **"CHOMPER, ANSWER US! WHERE ARE YOU?!"**

Chomper looked back to where the voice was coming for a moment before turning back to his friends.

"And my Daddy," he said casually.

"YOUR DADDY?!" the five dinosaur children shrieked.

Panic rose up in the Gang when they heard that. Spike in particular was so terrified that he attempted to turn around and run. However, he slammed right into Cera and the two of them knocked heads, hard. They both fell to the ground, dizzy and stunned. Meanwhile, Littlefoot, Aylene, Ducky and Petrie all stood trembling.

"Strongfang." Aylene whimpered, bringing on hand nervously up to her mouth.

The terrifying image of that T-Rex towering over her flashed in her mind. She could never forget that fear. That fear towards him. And that fear was even more intensified now that she knew that Strongfang was the brother of Sharptooth.

And if he was Sharptooth's brother, the human girl figured that would be bad news for her and her friends if he ever found them. She was certain that if he ever found them, he would kill them on the spot out of vengeance for his brother.

But Chomper was still oblivious to everyone's fears. He just couldn't seem to notice that they were all frightened.

"C'mon on," he said excitedly, "I want you to meet them."

Aylene gasped and attempted to stop the little T-Rex, but her voice failed her. It was like her brain suddenly shut off and she didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, Littlefoot saved her with an interjection of his own. Just as Chomper was about to walk off, Littlefoot lifted his voice.

"No, Chomper wait," he said with subtle urgency. He knew he would have to word this carefully. "I…uh…I don't think that's such a great idea."

_"__That's putting it mildly."_ Aylene thought timidly.

Chomper frowned and gave a sad expression.

"Oh, why not?" he asked pleadingly. "I know they'll like you."

"How?!" Cera replied snappishly, getting to her feet and turning around. The look on her face was of suspicion and anxiety. "Rare, medium, or well-done?!"

Aylene turned her head and looked at Cera with bafflement when she heard those three phrases.

"Where did you hear those?" Aylene asked, her voice squeaking a bit is surprise. "Do you know what that even means?"

"Derek mentioned it once," the three-horn replied with a glare. "He told me those are the terms you humans use when you're talking about cooking meat."

Aylene groaned and brought her hand up to her face, covering her eyes.

"Remind me not to let him teach you any other words," she grumbled to herself.

It was now that Chomper began to sense that something was wrong. But what made it difficult was that he didn't understand why. All he could see was that his friends were afraid. And Cera's comment made the little biter coil back uncomfortably. He didn't quite understand what she meant, but he had an idea that it had something to do with meat based on what he heard Aylene said.

Did they think that his parents would…eat them?

"I don't think they'd…" Chomper whimpered. He couldn't believe that his parents would bring harm to his friends.

But the Gang didn't look convinced. He decided to go and find his parents first before introducing his friends to them.

"Okay," Chomper said reassuringly. "Wait here."

Chomper began walk towards the direction where he heard his parents calling him. Once he was relatively out of earshot, Littlefoot and Aylene both turned to Cera with confronting expressions.

"What?!" Cera complained.

"You know very well 'what'." Aylene replied, folding her arms across her chest. "You didn't have to say that in front of Chomper. That was downright mean."

"Are you blind, Aylene?! Have you forgotten that he's a predator?!"

"What's with you, Cera?" Littlefoot interjected. "This is Chomper we're talking about. We saved him from egg-eaters. We hatched him. We're like his family."

"That's right." Aylene firmly defended. "He would never, ever hurt us."

"Both of you open your eyes!" Cera angrily exclaimed. "He's a PREDATOR! We're not his family, we're his DIET!"

By now, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike had all gone quiet and were trembling uncontrollably. They were already scared enough as it was, but what Cera was saying really pushed their fear into overdrive.

And that only got worse when Strongfang's roar boomed through the forest, **"CHOMPER, WHERE ARE YOU?!"**

Aylene's face turned whiter than paper. Strongfang sounded very close. The human girl might have trusted Chomper completely, but his father was an entirely different story.

"Right now I don't care what we are!" she cried. "LET'S JUST HIDE!"

The Gang didn't need to be told that twice. Without a moment of hesitation, they all darted towards the nearest bush large enough to hide them and got behind it. As they did, Chomper came running back. He was about to call out to them and tell them that everything was fine, when something knocked a large tree down just behind him. The trunk of the tree hit the ground with a large "THUNK" that rattled the earth beneath everyone's feet.

Carefully, Aylene struggled through the brambles and lowered the branches enough so that she could see what was going on. She swallowed hard when she saw an enormous, greenish-black T-Rex stomped onto the scene.

It was Strongfang.

"Oh man," Aylene said fearfully under her breath. "I forgot how big he was."

"Aylene," Littlefoot whispered beside her, "what are they saying?"

"Be quiet and let me listen." Aylene replied in the same tone.

* * *

**"Chomper, there you are!"** Strongfang exhaled deeply. **"Where have you been?!"**

**"I'm sorry, Daddy."** Chomper replied shyly in his native tongue. **"I didn't mean to run off."**

**"Strongfang?!"** Rena called from behind. **"Did you find him?!"**

**"He's right here, Rena!"** Strongfang answered.

In a few seconds, Rena came out of the forest and walked over to her family.

**"Oh, Chomper,"** she said with relief, bringing her head down to nuzzle her son. **"Where have you been?"**

**"I'm sorry, Mommy."** Chomper said, nuzzling his mother back. **"It's just that I smelled something different this morning and went to investigate. I was so curious I forgot to tell you and Daddy where I was going."**

Rena lifted her head away from her son and looked back at her husband, waiting for him to say something. Strongfang looked down at Chomper with a kind of firm gentleness. Although he knew his son had just gone off to check out a new scent, but that didn't stop him from worrying about him.

**"You had us worried sick, Chomper!"** he said with authority. **"You know it's dangerous to off by yourself like that!"**

Chomper coiled back and lowered his gaze with sad guilt. Strongfang's eyes softened when he saw that and he let out a deep breath. He realized that he might have been a little too harsh on his son. At least Chomper was still alive and unharmed, so there wasn't any real reason for him to get angry.

**"But the important thing is that you're okay." **Strongfang said more gently. **"We'll let it go this time. Now come along, it's time for breakfast."**

Chomper looked up with an eager smile. Strongfang couldn't help but give a light chuckle when he saw that. Chomper was just the kind of biter who couldn't stay sad for very long. And that grin of his was always enough to lift both Strongfang and Rena's spirits.

However, Chomper then asked something they weren't expecting.

**"Can I bring some friends with me?"**

**"Friends?"** Strongfang and Rena questioned at the same time.

The two adult T-Rexes turned to look at each other with confusion. This was the first time Chomper had ever asked that. Mostly because they didn't know he had any friends that they knew of. At the same time, they felt like it was great that he finally had some. For once, he met someone that wasn't trying to kill him.

Strongfang thought so casually of it that he said without thinking, **"Sure, we could use some dessert!"**

When those words left his father's mouth, Chomper jolted in shock. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped in horror. However, he wasn't the only one who had that reaction.

* * *

Aylene caught her breath and stared in round-eyed horror when she heard what Strongfang said. Her hands flew up over her mouth and she trembled, feeling her nerves go numb. Her worst fear appeared to have been confirmed.

And she and her friends were in grave danger.

"What'd they say, Aylene?" Littlefoot asked in a nervous whispered. He saw that her face was whiter than clouds and her hands were shaking.

"You don't want to know," the girl whimpered softly.

Aylene looked back just as Strongfang and Rena began to walk away. Chomper stood where he was, frozen as if he was turned into stone. But then, much to Aylene's horror, Strongfang came to an abrupt stop and sniffed the air intently. Even Chomper stiffened when he noticed what his father was doing.

**"Hey,"** he said inquisitively, **"what's that?"**

"Oh, no!" Aylene gulped.

"Aylene, what's wrong?" Ducky asked, shivering beside the human girl.

**"What is it, Strongfang?"** Rena asked.

**"It smells like…"**

Strongfang's voice trailed off as he tried to identify the scent tingling in his nostrils. Finally, with a spark of realization, he knew what it was.

**"Long-neck!"** he exclaimed.

Aylene gave a silent gasp of horror and involuntarily clung to Littlefoot. This of course made him look over at his human friend with a fearful expression.

"Aylene?" he whispered.

"Littlefoot," the girl answered, her mind in a state of near-panic, "they smell you!"

That was enough to make Littlefoot flinch. It was now clear that they were in deep trouble. If those predators could smell him, then it was only a matter of time before they smelled the rest of the group.

Thing only got worse when Strongfang began to stalk over to their hiding place!

Aylene tensed and covered her hands over her mouth to keep herself from screaming. But those monstrous feet shaking the earth were beginning to weaken her nerve.

"Let's get out of here!" Cera suggested quietly, her voice full of fright.

However, before anyone of them could make a run for it, something unexpected happened.

Chomper broke free of his frightened trance and dashed out in front of his father, shouting, **"That was me!"**

Strongfang stopped and looked down at his son with perplexity. Aylene looked over at Chomper through the bushes, her eyes wide with disbelief.

**"I-I, uh, burped!"** Chomper lied. **"I-I had long-neck for breakfast!"**

Chomper held his breath and waited to see what his parents would do next. Would they believe him or not? He was sincerely hoping that they would buy his explanation. He couldn't bare to see his friends devoured right before his eyes. He just had to protect them.

Aylene blinked in astonishment. Chomper was actually trying to protect them. She had been right about him the whole time, and this only proved it. Despite the danger she and her friends were in, she couldn't help but give a thankful smile.

Strongfang, after hearing his son's explanation, looked back at Rena. He then made a kind of gesture with his head that was hard to understand what he was trying to tell her. But Rena seemed to understand it and gave a single nod. Then the two grown-up T-Rexes turned around and began to walk back in the direction had first come from.

**"Come along, Son."** Strongfang ordered in a fatherly voice.

**"Be there in a minute."** Chomper called, waving good-bye to them.

The footsteps of the two grown predators began to fade away. In about a minute, they were gone altogether, indicating that both Strongfang and and Rena were no longer within hearing distance.

With the danger gone, the Gang emerged from behind the bush. Chomper turned around and looked at them with a dismal expression. He was sure that they overhead the conversation by now. He certainly now understood why they all had panicked expressions on their faces before. And now those expressions were even more so than before.

"I don't think you're safe around my folks," he said sadly, switching back to speaking leaf-eater.

"Big surprise!" Cera replied sarcastically.

Chomper flinched uncomfortably at that remark and looked down.

"Don't listen to her." Aylene said. "It's not your fault."

Chomper looked back up at Aylene and saw that she had a mild grin on her face.

"Besides," the girl continued, "I heard what you told them. You protected us. Thanks."

Aylene gently reached out a hand and petted his head in gratitude. Chomper couldn't help but giggle at the gesture. When Aylene removed her hand, he looked at her with innocence in his eyes for a brief moment. However, that slowly disappeared when he remembered something important and he gave a worried expression

"I should warn you to be careful," he said nervously. "My dad smelled you."

"Yeah," Littlefoot replied slowly. "We know. Which means they know we're on the island."

"Oh!" Petrie whined. "That even worser!"

Chomper was now fully aware of his friends' state of mind. He knew he had to do something to help them. They saved him long ago, now it was his turn to save them.

That's when he got an idea.

"But I know a place that they would never find you," he said positively. "C'mon, I'll show you. Follow me."

"Okay," Aylene nodded, "the sooner we get there, the sooner we can all relax for a bit. C'mon guys."

With that, the Gang all set out with Chomper leading the way. Right now, they just wanted a place where they could feel just a little safe. It didn't matter how small it was, they just wanted to get out of the open.

* * *

After Strongfang and Rena were a good distance away, the male T-Rex turned to his wife.

"You smelled them, too?" he asked, a sliver of hope resonating in his voice.

"Yeah." Rena nodded in astonishment. "I can't believe it. But I'd know their scents anywhere. It's them alright. The children from the Great Valley."

"I could hardly believe it either." Strongfang replied. "At first I wasn't quite sure. But when I smelled the human girl, I had no doubt it was them. After all, it's not common to smell a long-neck, a three-horn, a swimmer, a flyer, and a spike-tail all in one place. Let alone a human."

Strongfang then looked down at the ground and said guiltily, "Now I know why Chomper looked so horrified when I said we could use some dessert."

Rena grimaced. She knew perfectly well that her son had lied about eating a long-neck, but for a good reason she could respect. He thought that she and Strongfang intended to harm them.

Still, that did leave the question of why Strongfang wanted leave the place without saying anything.

"Why did you make us leave?" she asked. "I thought you wanted to thank them for saving our son."

Strongfang shook his head.

"It wasn't the right time," he answered. "Couldn't you smell the fear coming from them? If we had tried to talk to them, they would've run away. Not to mention, only the human girl can understand us. And I doubt she would've been in a receptive mood."

"I see." Rena lowered her eyes. "Still, if they see us as threat, we have to tell them somehow that we're not. And if the human girl is the only one who can understand us, she would be the most likely candidate to talk to."

Strongfang thought for a moment.

"You're right, Rena," he said. "But we'll have to catch her when she's alone. I don't know if she would be willing to listen when she has her friends around. We would most likely get her attention when she's alone."

"Good idea." Rena agreed. "In the meantime, we should just keep an eye on Chomper and his friends. Not interfere, just keep an eye on them."

"I was thinking the same thing. But first we need to find them again. We just can't make ourselves known until the time is right. Chomper wants to protect them, we should at least give him that opportunity."

Rena nodded, concurring to the plan. With that, the two biters split up and began to search for their son and his friends.

"Thank goodness we're the only ones on this island." Strongfang mumbled to himself.

* * *

However, unbeknownst to Strongfang, that statement was going to soon be proven wrong.

For at that moment, the large green plated predator that had been tracking down Sharptooth's defeaters arrived onto the shores of the island. He had somehow found a second path onto the landmass, and was now back on his hunt. There was no questioning his nose. The scents of those runts was strong and fresh. They were on this island. He knew they were here.

Saliva began to build up in his mouth as he thought of their flesh slicing between his teeth. Oh, how he couldn't wait to savor the taste of every last one of them. He snarled with wicked anticipation. He was close now. He was close to his goal. He would find them before the bright circle set. Those young ones were as good as goners.

The title of "Walking Terror" was about to become his.


	14. Chapter 13: Separation

**Separation**

Fifteen minutes had passed and the Gang was still following the little biter through the forest. Chomper was in the front, Littlefoot and Aylene were walking behind him side-by-side, Cera and behind them, and Spike was behind her. Petrie had taken to flying just a few feet above the group, and Ducky was walking nervously behind the whole group.

Wherever this hiding spot was that Chomper was leading them to, it certainly wasn't nearby. Whether that was a good thing or not remained to be seen. If it was in a secluded part of the island, then trek would probably be worth it. But if Strongfang or Rena found them before they got there, then they would've walked all this time for nothing.

Still, Chomper kept to the most crowded places of the island. It was almost like he was guiding them on hidden trails that were only big enough for them to travel on.

"Stay with me, okay? So you don't get lost." Chomper said with caution.

"Don't worry." Littlefoot replied, looking at the surroundings warily.

Even though Chomper had distracted his parents for a while, the long-neck was still keeping his senses on high alert. The last thing he was wanted was to be caught off guard by predators, particularly ones that about thirteen feet tall, and had a mouth full of dagger-like teeth.

Ducky was also looking around fearfully. She was particularly disturbed by the current situation that she and her friends were in. For all she and friends knew, Chomper's parents could appear from anywhere at any time. And only heaven what else was on this island that was capable of devouring a little swimmer like her in one bite. Just the thought of that was enough to make her shiver and lightly whimper.

She had never felt this afraid since the time she had to lure Sharptooth out of his cave so that her friends could knock him into the pond and drown him. That was the most terrifying moment of her life. She felt so weak and helpless back then. It was a miracle that she managed to avoid getting eaten by that brute of a T-Rex. It still gave her nightmares, even after all of these months.

And now she was feeling that fear again, only it was a little stronger this time around.

Ducky was so gripped by this feeling of terror that she didn't notice that her feet had taken her on a separate path than her friends. None of the Gang noticed that she had walked down a different trail either. The little swimmer just kept on walking, looking up all around her with a fearful anxiety.

What finally snapped her out of her trance was a nasty shock of reality.

Ducky around turned and was about to take another step when she was met with the edge of cliff. Since she saw it at the last minute, her foot was already half-way off of the edge, and her other one was in the air. She didn't have time to regain her balance. For a horrifying moment, she just teetered there, her arms stretched out and her kept her tail straight in hopes of keeping her balanced long enough for someone to help her.

"Littlefoot!" she cried out. "Aylene! Cera! Somebody!"

At that moment, the earth beneath her foot crumbled and she fell.

"HEEEELLLLPPPP!" she screamed as she fell down.

She tumbled through the air just slowly enough to catch a glimpse of what was below her. It was a small river nestled in the middle of the canyon. There was also a shore on the side where she was falling. She quickly realized that she was falling towards the shore. In just a matter of seconds she would end up just a splat on the ground.

However, when she looked down again, she noticed there was something on the shore. At first she thought it was cluster of logs.

But in a flash of realization, she knew that those weren't logs. Because one of them, the reddish one directly below her moved and opened its mouth to yawn, revealing sharp teeth.

Oh horror! That was a pack of biters down there!

Ducky cried in terror as she realized that she was falling straight for the reddish biter's open mouth!

* * *

Battle Scar let out a deep yawn when he heard the sound of something screaming.

About a second later, something small but heavy landed on his tongue. It took him completely by surprise so much that for a moment he shut his mouth and his eyes snapped wide open in shock. But the moment he got his sense of taste back, he immediately spat the thing back out with disgust. That was no fish that landed in his mouth. That was a dinosaur. And a small one by what he could tell by the size.

And he didn't like the taste.

Ducky, stunned but alive, and covered from head to toe in saliva, tumbled across the sandy shore. When she came to a stop, she laid in the sand for a moment, completely dumbfounded by what just happened. One minute she was in the darkness of a predator's mouth ready to be swallowed, and the next she was shot right back out.

That was certainly something that never happened to her before.

When she had regained her senses again, she became away of the fact that she was now covered in drool.

"Eww," she grimaced, looking over herself with nausea.

"Ugh!" Battle Scar exclaimed, sticking his tongue out in repulsion. "Swimmer!"

Ducky's attention snapped back to the large biter in front of her. She let out a shriek and scrambled to her feet. She ran over to the nearest boulder and ducked down behind it, trembling as she tried to get her breath back. Her pulse was racing like crazy from all of the adrenaline coursing through her.

Once he had recovered from that nasty surprise, Battle Scar looked over at the boulder where the swimmer had run behind and blinked in curiosity. He could tell by the scent that the little dinosaur cowing behind it was a swimmer.

But what was a swimmer doing here? Where did she come from?

"Are you okay, little one?" he asked.

Ducky gasped in shock. This predator spoke the same language she did.

This biter could speak leaf-eater?

That alone was enough to make her peek out from behind the boulder just enough for Battle Scar to see her face. She still kept most of herself hidden behind it like it was her shield.

"Are you alright?" Battle Scar asked. "You're not hurt are you?"

"N-No, I don't think so." Ducky shook her head, her voice quivering.

"Battle Scar, what's going on?" a voice came from behind.

Ducky froze when she saw another biter like Battle Scar come up from behind and stand next to the red biter. He was soon joined by the rest of his pack. Ducky shrunk back from behind the boulder, shivering again. She was seriously outnumbered.

"It's alright, little one." Battle Scar said when he noticed her fear. "We mean you no harm."

But Ducky wasn't convinced. There were too many predators around. More than she was comfortable with.

Battle Scar seemed to sense this. He turned around to his pack and said with calm authority, "Get back a bit. She's frightened."

The pack obeyed without hesitation and backed away from their leader.

Now Ducky was more confused than frightened. Why weren't these biter's attacking her? And why did they speak the same language as her? None of this made sense.

"You can come out, little one," she heard Battle Scar gently coax. "I promise you that you are in no danger."

Ducky hesitated for a moment. She wasn't sure if she could trust any of these biters. All the biters that she had encountered in her life always wanted to eat her, with Chomper being the exception of course.

Then again, they did speak in the tongue of leaf-eaters like Chomper did. And this Battle Scar didn't seem to be deceitful. Nor was he like he was trying to lure her into a trap. But was that just a trick to get her guard down?

Ducky didn't know what to do. She thought hard for a moment. She tried to think of what her friends would've done. What would Aylene or Littlefoot do in this situation? Knowing those two, they would take their chances and approach the biters.

But was that the best idea? Or should she just make a run for it?

When she thought about this, she slowly realized that if those biters really meant to do her harm, they would've done it by now. They didn't need to rely on trickery.

But was it safe? Was it worth the risk? Or should she just run?

Finally, Ducky's mind made itself up. She took a deep breath and summoned all of the courage that she had. This was probably going to be either one of the bravest things she had ever done, or the dumbest.

Ducky stepped out from behind the boulder so that the whole pack of biters could see her. The first biter that she made eye-contact with was Battle Scar. The one whose mouth she had fallen into just moments before.

The moment Ducky looked up at Battle Scar, she immediately saw why he was called that. The dark red scar around his snout stood out like a sore thumb. She shuddered when she saw just how fierce that scar made him look.

But curiously, his eyes told a different story. They were full of unmistakable honesty, courage, and kindness. And his weren't the only ones. All of the eyes of the pack members had a trustworthy shine in them.

Those were traits that Ducky never thought she would ever see in a biter like this, let alone an entire pack. She couldn't help but be astounded by this. She even forgot to be afraid.

Nevertheless, she kept her distance. None of the biters made a move either.

So far, so good.

"Hello there." Battle Scar greeted her. "Who are you?"

"Um," Ducky paused, "my name is Ducky."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Ducky." Battle Scar nodded. "My name is Battle Scar. I'm the leader of this pack."

Ducky swallowed hard. Just know that this biter was the leader made her a little more cautious.

"It's nice to meet you, Battle Scar," she said uncomfortably. "But…aren't you a…well…a predator?"

Battle Scar paused for a moment.

"If you're asking if I'm a biter, then I won't deny it," he said. "Yes, I am. As is my pack."

"But…" Ducky mumbled timidly. "Don't you…um…eat dinosaurs…like me?"

Battle Scar looked surprised by the question for a moment. Then, to Ducky's opened mouth astonishment, he and the rest of his pack began to chuckle. She cocked her head in confusion, unable to tell what was going on. Was them laughing a good thing or a bad thing?

She was seriously hoping that it wasn't anything bad for her.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Battle Scar said, returning to his calm composure. "Nothing personal, little one. We're used to that. But you needn't worry about that. My pack and I aren't like the flesh-eating biters. We're fish-eaters."

"Fish-eaters?" Ducky questioned, feeling just a little hopeful.

"Yeah," another biter said, coming up from behind Battle Scar, "I guess you could say that we are a rare kind of biter. As long as there's fish, we are content."

"And I swear on my honor," Battle Scar said, lowing his head like he was a knight, "my pack and I have never eaten another dinosaur in our lives, leaf-eater or otherwise."

At the same time, all of the biters in the back all nodded and said in a jumble of voices that what Battle Scar said was the truth.

That was enough to tell Ducky that this pack wasn't dangerous at all. She couldn't explain how or why, but she just knew in that moment that she could trust these biters. They weren't the murderous and bloodthirsty kind. They were different from the others. They were just like Chomper; she just knew that they were.

A huge smile came across her face and her eyes lit up with elation. She had never felt so relieved in her life.

"Well then it's really nice to meet you all!" she said happily. "It is, it is!"

"I'm glad." Battle Scar nodded. "And I apologize for spitting you out like that. That must have been unpleasant."

"No, it's okay." Ducky replied. "I'm sorry for falling into your mouth. But I also should thank you for saving me from a terrible fall."

"You're welcome then. But I must ask, why did you fall from that cliff?

Ducky frowned and looked down sadly. "I got separated from my friends and I fell off that cliff."

"Your friends?" the biter beside Battle Scar questioned. "You mean you're not here alone?"

"No," Ducky shook her head, "my friends and I are stuck on this island. And now I'm lost and don't know where I am. No, no, no."

Battle Scar's face turned to sympathetic and he pondered over what he the swimmer just told him for a minute. Finally, he looked back up with a smile.

"How about we help you look for them?" he offered.

"Really?" Ducky said with disbelief. "You'll really help me?"

"Of course." Battle Scar replied. "This wouldn't be the first time we've helped a young leaf-eater find their way home. As long as we can smell your friends, then we can find them."

"Oh, thank you!" Ducky exclaimed with glee. "Thank you so much!"

Battle Scar chuckled and lowered his head down to the ground.

"Hop on and I'll give you a ride," he said.

Ducky ran over to the biter and leapt on to the back of his head in just a single jump. Battle Scar then rose up to his full height and turned back to address his pack. He looked at two other male biters.

"Bar, Onyx," he said, "will you accompany me and this little swimmer in the search?"

"Yes, Battle Scar." Bar and Onyx responded in unison, almost like they were soldiers addressing their commander.

"Alright," the pack leader nodded. He then turned to the rest of the pack. "The rest of you continue down the river. Bar, Onyx, and I will join up with you as soon as we can. Whatever happens, stay together. Remember, no leaves the island until we return, understood?"

"Yes, Battle Scar," the pack responded together.

With that, the two groups went their separate ways.

For a while, Ducky was having a hard time believing that she was _riding_ on a predatory dinosaur. Normally, she would have just been terrified of the idea of even getting within ten feet of a giant biter like Battle Scar. She never would have imaged have actually riding on one, even in her wildest of dreams. But this wasn't a dream; this was real.

And something about these biters made her feel safe.

"So," Battle Scar said, "where can we find your swimmer friends?"

Ducky looked down at Battle Scar with befuddlement. She realized that he was working under the assumption that Ducky had been separated from her own kind. And while that was true in terms of her being separated from her family, neither her mother nor siblings were on the island.

"Oh, no, they aren't swimmers," she quickly explained. "Littlefoot is a long-neck, and Cera is a three-horn."

Upon hearing that, all three biters stopped dead in their tracks. Their eyes widened with shock, their jaws fell open, and they looked at each other, stunned.

Ducky noticed their reaction, and an apprehensive feeling began to tighten in her chest.

"How many of you are there?" Battle Scar asked slowly.

Ducky carefully thought for a moment, unsure of whether to answer that question or not. She wasn't liking how things were going at the moment.

"Well," she said slowly, "there are…six of us."

"You said that two of your companions were a long-neck and three-horn, right?" Bar asked quickly.

"Yeah." Ducky nodded.

"What about the other three?" Onyx said. A strange kind of hopefulness seemed to have slipped into his voice.

"Well," the little swimmer replied carefully, "Petrie is a flyer, Spike is a spike-tail, and Aylene is a human."

Battle Scar, Bar, and Onyx all gasped in amazement.

"You ARE the ones!" Battle Scar exclaimed.

Ducky leaned back and raised an arm protectively up in front of her. What was Battle Scar talking about?

"You and your friends are the ones who defeated Sharptooth, aren't you?!" Bar said, sounding like he wanted to laugh.

At the mention of Sharptooth, Ducky gasped in shock and coiled back. She was starting to get that horrifying feeling again. She suddenly remembered what Littlefoot and Aylene had told her and the others about how Gang were being targeted by predators because they defeated Sharptooth.

Were these biters also after the title of "Walking Terror"? If they were, she was in grave danger.

But she couldn't deny it now. She had to own up.

"Y-Yes," she admitted fearfully. "We did defeat him. But…"

Before Ducky could think of anything to say next, Battle Scar interrupted her by saying in a voice of sincerity, "Then we thank you."

That took the little swimmer by surprise. Her fear was immediately replaced by bafflement.

"You're…thanking us?" she questioned. "But…I thought that you…I thought that predators wanted to…well…I thought they wanted to be the "Walking Terror"."

"Not us." Battle Scar shook his head. "Sharptooth was a threat to our pack and many other fish-eaters. He killed my father and took the lives of countless other biters. But now, thanks to you and your friends, he's gone and our pack is free. On behalf of my pack, I thank you."

Ducky just stared for a moment. Then slowly, a thankful smile spread across her face. Tears of joy began to well up in her eyes. She had never felt this kind of grateful feeling towards any biter before. But it was such a relief none the less.

"Thank you, thank you all," she said tearfully. "I guess not all biters are not bad. You guys are really nice. I'm glad that my friends and I are on our side. I can't wait to tell them the news."

"Well, first we gotta find them." Onyx pointed out. "I think we should start by getting back up to the top of the canyon. I saw a path that would take us up there just down this way."

"Then lead the way, Onyx." Battle Scar instructed.

With that matter settled, the little group of four made their way down the canyon.


	15. Chapter 14: You Got My Attention

**You Got My Attention**

Meanwhile, Chomper continued to lead the Gang across the island. In just a few minutes, he guided them a place where fallen tree stretched over a large canyon. He stopped only for a moment to look back at his friends.

"The hiding place is just on the other side," he explained, pointing to the opposite ledge. "We just have to cross this log."

"Oh man," Cera groaned. "Another dangerous bridge. What's going to happen this time: it's going to break when were out on the middle of it?"

"Don't worry." Chomper said confidently. "This bridge is really sturdy. I've used it many times before."

As Chomper and Cera exchanged a conversation, Aylene looked over the whole group. Using her index finger, she began to do a headcount to make sure everyone was there. She counted Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie, Spike, Chomper, and…

"Wait a minute," Aylene spoke up suddenly, "where's Ducky?"

As soon as the human girl voiced that question, the Gang and Chomper all jerked up in alert and began to look around for any sign of the little swimmer. It was only now that they realized that Ducky wasn't with them. This sent a jolt of fear through them, as well as panic-induced questions.

Where was she? When did she get separated from the group? How long was she was gone?

"Did anyone see where she went?" Littlefoot asked quickly.

"Me no see her since we started walking!" Petrie said, shaking his head worriedly.

Cera, who was the most paranoid out of the whole group, snapped her head around in Chomper's direction. The little biter saw the highly suspicious look on her face and stepped back cautiously, raising his arms protectively up in front of him.

"You didn't have a midmorning snack when we weren't looking, did ya?!" she said, almost accusingly.

Chomper backed away even more and gave a pained expression. Aylene snapped her head quickly in Cera's direction and gave an offended scowl. Littlefoot had the same reaction as his human friend, only he did something else. He stepped forward and stood in front of Chomper protectively.

"You take that back, Cera!" he said forcefully. "Chomper couldn't have eaten her, he was in front of us the whole time!"

Cera just responded by giving the long-neck a stubborn expression. Although she knew that Littlefoot had stated a valid point, she was still too paranoid and prideful to say otherwise. She then looked away sourly. This made Littlefoot exhale deeply in disappointment.

Chomper on the other hand, just turned away as if he was ashamed. Although he wasn't quite sure, he had a bad feeling that Cera distrusted him because he was a biter. And considering that he remembered biting her tail when he first hatched, he couldn't say he blamed her. Even he didn't know why he did it back then, he just did. It was like some part of him had taken over and he lost his sense of self for a moment. It didn't faze him much back then. But now that he was with his leaf-eater friends again, that part of his past was starting to come back to haunt him.

Aylene saw that the tension in the group was rising. She backed over the path they had just taken. She was more worried about Ducky than anything else at the moment. She knew she had to find the little swimmer, but she didn't want to risk the others getting hurt either. She also didn't want to leave if her friends were going to be paranoid and fearful of Chomper. She knew what it was like to be feared by what you were, and even shunned because of it. She didn't want Chomper to go through that. She wanted to be there to support him.

Then again, Littlefoot showed to have the same convictions as she did. After all, he stood up for Chomper just a moment ago. Considering this made Aylene think that the loyal long-neck would be able to handle this situation. After all, he was a natural-born leader as far as she was concerned.

"I'm going back to look for Ducky." Aylene said calmly, getting everyone's attention. "I'm sure she just got lost somewhere. You guys should head for the hiding place."

"You sure you're okay with going by yourself?" Littlefoot asked. "I just don't think it's smart to go by yourself. And how are you going to find the hiding place?"

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." Aylene replied reassuringly. "And Chomper can find me after he's helped you guys to the hideout. After all, he's got a strong sense of smell, right Chomper?"

Chomper looked up in surprise at Aylene's bright blue eyes. He noticed that she was smiling at him, like she was trying to say that she had confidence in him. Just seeing someone had strong faith in him was enough to cheer him up in an instant.

"You bet." Chomper nodded. "I can find you easy and lead you to the hideout once you find Ducky."

"I know I can count on you." Aylene said to the little T-Rex before looking back at the others. "No need to worry. As soon as I find Ducky, we'll skedaddle on back."

"But what if those bigger T-Rex find you?" Petrie asked fearfully.

"I'll stay in the denser parts of the forest." Aylene replied. "Now we should all get moving. I promise I'll be back with Ducky real soon."

Before anyone could continue the conversation, Aylene set off running down the path. The others watched with concern as the human girl disappeared among the trees and bushes. When she was out of sight, Littlefoot gathered back his senses and took on his role as leader.

"C'mon guys," he said commandingly. "We should do out part and get to the hideout. Chomper?"

Chomper just replied by nodding and leaping up onto the log-bridge. He then walked across just as comfortably as if he was walking on solid ground. He didn't even seem to care that he could potentially fall off into the ravine below.

One by one, the rest of the Gang followed the little T-Rex to the other side. Littlefoot went first, then Cera, and finally Spike. Petrie, being able to use his wings to fly, simply glided to the other side and waited for the others. Once then were all across, Chomper took the lead and guided them through the forest once again.

Before the log-bridge was out of sight, Littlefoot glanced back one last time.

_"Aylene,"_ he thought to himself. _"I'll do my best to be strong for the others, but I can't help but worry about you and Ducky. Just find her and come back safely."_

* * *

Aylene ran only a few more feet into the forest before slowing down to a walking pace. Putting all of her senses on high alert, she scanned the area for any sign of Ducky. While she tried to keep her gaze down to the ground as much as possible, she looked up to the tall trees as frequently as possible. Just knowing that two larger T-Rexes were on this island, and that they could be hiding in among the trees without her seeing them, made her not want to be caught off guard. The last thing she wanted was to die from either the teeth of a T-Rex, or from a terror-induced heart-attack.

With every step she took, Aylene was starting to feel even more vulnerable. It was like she had just become aware of just how small she was in this world. She was just a tiny human in a land where giant dinosaurs roamed. Despite the fact she had a weapon for self-defense, she was still a relatively morsel for any predator to grab. And there could be predators hiding behind any of these trees and she couldn't see them. That was certainly a disturbing thought.

Pretty soon, Aylene was so overwhelmed with the anxiety of being ambushed that she had to stop and rest up against a large tree for a moment. She felt cold sweat dripping down her face. Her limbs were beginning to feel like they were going numb, and her heart was racing faster by every passing minute.

She was starting to wish she had taken the others with her. At least she wouldn't feel so alone.

"Oh man, maybe this was a bad idea," Aylene mumbled to herself, looking around with wide eyes. "And my brain certainly isn't helping things. I just hope Ducky's okay."

Aylene was about to get up and search again when she got a horrible shock.

A huge foot with three sharp talons stomped down right behind her and a deep voice said, **"There you are."**

That was predator voice if Aylene ever heard one.

Aylene froze in terror and her heart leapt up to her collarbone. Her stomach turned to ice and her courage was sucked out of her. She had completely forgotten the fact she had a bow and arrow and wanted to just run away as fast as she could. Unfortunately, her limbs couldn't obey her reaction. She tripped over her feet and fell to the ground.

Overtaken by panic, Aylene began screaming as loud as she could. She didn't know what she was trying to accomplish with screaming, but she did it nonetheless. However, the words were pouring out of her mouth so fast that they all ran together into some kind of gibberish.

**"AUGHYOUDON'TWANNAEATMEITASTETERRIBLE! SOMEONEHELPMEPLEASEAUGH!"**

**"Calm down!"** the deep voice ordered. **"There's no need to get hysterical!"**

It was only now that Aylene realized something wasn't normal and she stopped screaming. She was now a little puzzled. Why wasn't this predator attacking her? Surely he would've reached down with his jaws and crushed her by now.

Slowly, Aylene turned over to see who exactly had startled her. When she saw who it was, her insides froze up again.

It was Strongfang!

**"Strongfang?!"** Aylene shrieked.

**"We meet again, little human."** Strongfang said casually.

However, much to Strongfang's surprise, Aylene screamed again and started to scramble to her feet. Before the large biter could say anything, she attempted to dash away.

**"Wait!"** Strongfang shouted. **"Come back!"**

Aylene looked back only for a moment until she was suddenly stopped by another large tree. She slammed right into it and fell backwards. Before she had time to recover, Strongfang came up behind her and blocked her escape route.

**"Calm down."** Strongfang said. **"I promise I mean you no harm."**

Aylene stopped and stared up at the enormous biter in front of her. Did she just hear this guy right? Did he say that he didn't mean her any harm? Or did she imagine it.

Aylene narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

**"Why should I believe you?!"** she said accusingly. **"How do I know you're not trying to trick me?! We don't exactly have a good history, you and I!"**

Strongfang looked down at Aylene with soft eyes, which surprised the human girl greatly.

**"I understand why you would be distrustful of me."** Strongfang admitted. **"And I can't say I blame you. I know my mate and I attacked you and your friends back in the Great Valley, but I promise it was a misunderstanding. And I'm sorry for that."**

Aylene raised an eyebrow. Something about the way Strongfang was speaking to her sounded sincere. But could she really trust him? How could she be sure he wasn't just trying to make her drop her guard?

However, what Strongfang said next would change things completely for Aylene.

**"I also wanted to thank you,"** he lowered his head slightly with gratitude. **"You and your friends saved my son's life. Not only that, but you also saved my family's lives. For that, I am grateful."**

Aylene looked up at the T-Rex in surprise. He was thanking her? Why? Why was he thanking her? Shouldn't he be attacking her? Didn't he know that she and friends were the ones who defeated his brother? Didn't he want revenge? Didn't he at least want them as a food source?

None of this made sense. Aylene couldn't comprehend what was going on. She was too confused.

**"Why are you thanking me?"** she asked. **"And why are you not attacking me?"**

As Strongfang looked at Aylene, she noticed something that she had never seen before. Strongfang's eyes looked humanlike. They didn't look mindless and rage-driven at all. They were filled with a strange kind of honesty that she hadn't noticed until now.

Had he always had those eyes? Why hadn't she noticed that before?

**"I don't have any reason to attack you."** Strongfang said in a strong but kind voice. **"You and your friends saved my family the moment you defeated Sharptooth. Why would I attack someone who saved my son and mate?"**

At the sound of that name, Aylene tensed and her face went pale. But her fear didn't take over this time. The way Strongfang said it, it was like he was GLAD his brother was gone.

And what did he mean by she and her friends saving his family when they defeated Sharptooth?

Aylene had to have answers now. Whether she liked it or not, she had no choice but to trust this T-Rex. She just couldn't see any other way around it.

**"Okay, Strongfang,"** she said, putting on a brave face. **"You got my attention. I'll trust you for now. But you gotta promise to tell me everything about your connection to Sharptooth."**

Strongfang gave a smile and nodded, **"I promise I will tell you everything you need to know."**

With that, Strongfang turned around and began to walk away. He glanced back only for a moment to see Aylene get back to her feet and run after him. When she reached his feet, she slowed down and began to walk alongside him. Still she kept a good enough distance away from him just to be safe. She still didn't know if this was a trick or not, and she couldn't be too careful.

Strongfang accepted this. He couldn't blame her for being cautious.

The dark green T-Rex led the young human girl through the forest to find a place where they could talk privately. He knew that he would have a lot of explaining to do. He just hoped this little human girl would be willing to listen.


	16. Chapter 15: Still One of Us

**Still One of Us**

As Aylene followed Strongfang, Chomper continued to lead Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie, and Spike through the forest. Eventually, the group came to a large grove of flowers that looked like pink tulips. However, as the leaf-eaters got closer, they all began to smell something revolting.

"Ugh!" Cera groaned, wrinkling her nose. "What's that smell?!"

"It's the flowers." Chomper explained, covering his nose. "I call this the Stinky Place. You'll be safe here because no one will be able to smell you."

"Well, that's a good thing." Littlefoot said with a forced smile.

"Oh, yeah." Cera replied, rolling her eyes in irritation. "There's nothing I love more than smelling like club-tails on a hot day."

"But you guys haven't seen the best part." Chomper grinned. "There's a place beyond this grass. Follow me."

The little T-Rex walked forward and disappeared among the tall grass and flowers. The Gang hesitated for a moment, exchanging uncertain glances as they did. Finally, Littlefoot took a deep breath and began to walk through the grass. The others followed his lead shortly after. In a few seconds they all came out on the other side.

As soon as they were out, they all stopped and stared in awe. For what was in front of them was something they had never seen before.

The flower bed was actually a large circle that wrapped around a hole in the ground ahead of them. The hole itself was more like a dent in the earth that was about a fifty yard in diameter. Inside of the crater-like indentation were some tall trees, as well as some curious looking objects. There was a bunch of toppled down structures that looked like cloth draped over sticks. There were also some rock formations that looked like fire-pits.

Captivated, the whole Gang slowly began to walk around and explore their new surrounding. They looked around the strange structures, looking inside of them, and investigating the fire pits.

Along with all of the cloth and sticks, there was also a bunch of scattered pieces of what looked like polished rocks that ranged in different sizes. Some were as long as Littlefoot's neck, and others were as small as Chomper's longest tooth. A few of them also seemed to be stuck in what looked like with wooden or rock cases.

As Littlefoot looked inside one of the toppled down cloth structures, he began to get a sense of déjà vu. This sense of being in an enclosed space that wasn't a cave, and had a combination of elements holding it together, made him think of the time he had accidently gone to Aylene's world. He remembered how she had hidden him in a shed, and how she showed him all of the things in her world that greatly resembled those shiny, sharp rock things.

"What place this?" Petrie asked, completely astonished.

"I found this when I was exploring the island one day." Chomper said proudly. "I call it the Mystery Grounds. I sometimes come here to play. My parents had a hard time finding me at first because of the Stink Flowers. That's how I know this place will be a great hiding place for you guys."

"Thanks, Chomper." Littlefoot said, preoccupied. "You know; I think this might have been a human settlement of some kind."

"Me, too." Cera agreed as she examined a fire pit. "Aylene has made tons of these rock formations before. And if that's true, then that would also explain why she said that plants from her world are on this island."

"But if that's true, then how did this all get here?" Littlefoot wondered. "And were are the humans that used to live here? This stuff looks like it was abandoned a long time ago."

"How should I know?" Cera frowned. "I'm not an expert on humans."

"Maybe Aylene knows." Petrie suggested. "She know lots of things."

Spike nodded and grunted in agreement as he walked back over to the group.

"Yeah, but she's not here." Cera pointed out cynically. "And goodness knows where she and Ducky are now."

"I'm sure they're both fine." Littlefoot said with confident assurance. "In fact, they might be on their way back right now."

At that moment, a deep grumble from his stomach alerted Littlefoot to the fact that he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. It also alerted Cera, Petrie and Spike that they hadn't had a decent meal at all today.

They were so concerned about their lives before that they had completely forgotten about their hunger. Now it was starting to catch up with them with a vengeance. And aside from the Stink Flowers, there wasn't much for them to eat in this area.

Chomper seemed to sense this and cocked his head.

"You know," he spoke up, "if you guys are hungry, I can find you some food."

The Gang all turned to look at him, a small shred of hope growing in their eyes.

"You really help us, Chomper?" Petrie asked.

"Of course." Chomper nodded. "You guys took care of me, so now it's my turn to take care of you."

"Thanks, Chomper." Littlefoot replied graciously. But then another thought came to the young long-neck's mind. "But, uh, do you know what we eat exactly?"

That question made Chomper pause for a moment. He gave a pensive expression as he thought hard about what Littlefoot just asked him. He then looked a little worried when he realized that he knew absolutely nothing what leaf-eaters ate. The only thing he knew was that the stuff they ate was green, and it tasted awful to him. That certainly wasn't going to help him find anything for his friends.

"Not really," he admitted shyly.

Littlefoot gave a light chuckle. "That's okay. I'll come with you to help."

At that suggestion, Chomper's face lit up with happiness. However, at the same time, a look of suspicious dread came over Cera's.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Littlefoot," she said firmly. "After all, those two other T-Rexes are still out there. What if you run into them?"

Littlefoot looked over at Cera, his eyes narrowing just a smidge. He could clearly see the look of distrust in her face. But it wasn't distrust toward him. He followed her line of vision and noticed that she was looking at Chomper.

Littlefoot turned back to the small biter, "Chomper, you wait for me outside the Stinky Flowers. I'll be there in a minute."

"Oh, okay." Chomper replied.

Littlefoot watched as Chomper trotted away from the group. He wanted to make sure that he was out of earshot before he confronted Cera on her suspicions. When he was positive that he was out of range, the long-neck turned back to Cera with a confronting look.

"What?" Cera snapped.

"Don't give me that." Littlefoot said sharply. "I saw the way you were looking at Chomper. You still don't trust him."

"Why should I?" Cera rebuked harshly. "Get it through your head, Littlefoot: Chomper's a predator. You know perfectly well it's in his nature. Did you forget how he was hunting us earlier?"

"He didn't know it was us." Littlefoot defended. "But he stopped the moment he recognized us. And just now, he brought us here to protect us. He's helped us a lot. How can you not trust him? Is it just because he's different from us?"

The long-neck then looked over at the flyer and spike-tail. "You guys trust Chomper, don't you?"

Instead of an immediate response, Petrie and Spike just exchanged unsure glances.

"W-Well," Petrie stuttered. "Chomper really cute now. But someday…well…he might decide that we be things to be eaten."

Littlefoot's mouth dropped with disbelief. He could not believe his ears.

"Wait, you feel the same way Cera does?" he asked, his voice hinting at some shock. "But Chomper's our friend. He would never turn on us."

Cera just scowled even more. Anxiety had been building up inside her since this morning: from learning that the island was inhabited by predators, to losing Ducky and Aylene, and not knowing if her two friends were even alive. By now, she couldn't contain it anymore. It all came at once and she didn't have time to think about what she was saying.

"We've never had a good experience with predators, Littlefoot!" she shouted. "All the ones we've met have tried to eat us or kill us for the sake of some "Walking Terror" title! How can you forget that?! Have you forgotten what Sharptooth did to us?! What he did to your mother?!"

Littlefoot jolted in terror at the moment his mother was mentioned. Horrible memories of Sharptooth killing his mother right before his eyes flashed through his mind in a split second. Only for the long-neck, it felt like a much longer time than that.

First Littlefoot felt really scared, and then he felt very angry. His shocked and terrified expression quickly changed into a deep scowl and he stomped one foot forward, almost as if he wanted to challenge the three-horn.

Cera noticed his reaction and stepped back defensively.

"Don't EVER say that again!" Littlefoot glowered viciously. "Sharptooth was a monster! Chomper is nothing like that! He may be a T-Rex like Sharptooth, but he has a heart! I have faith in him, even if the rest of you don't!"

For a few seconds, Littlefoot and Cera looked at each other in a very intense staring contest. Spike and Petrie just looked on with nervousness. Both were waiting for either the Apatosaurus or the Triceratops to suddenly charge forward and begin a brawl. But neither one of them moved.

Finally, Littlefoot raised himself up, gave on last glance at the group, and then turned away.

"I'll be right back," was all he said as he walked towards the flower bushes.

Littlefoot marched back up the slope and into the tall grass. He remembered to hold his breath as he passed through the clumps of Stink Flowers. Just as he was about to come out on the other side, he began to hear something else. As he listened for a second, he realized that it was someone sniffling. He stuck his head out into the open air and looked over to his right. What he saw made his heart sink.

Chomper was curled up in a pitiful ball, and tears were falling from his eyes.

Littlefoot stepped out of the blades of grass and towards the little biter. "Chomper?"

Chomper snapped his head up and looked over at Littlefoot. He then looked away in shame and tried to wipe his tears away. The young Apatosaurus came up beside the little T-Rex and lowered his head down his level.

"You heard what we said, didn't you?" he asked carefully.

Chomper couldn't tell a lie. He gave on little sniffle before nodding.

"I'm sorry, Chomper." Littlefoot frowned guiltily.

"No, it's okay." Chomper whimpered. "I'm kind of used to it."

"It's not okay." Littlefoot replied. "You've help us and we hurt your feelings."

Chomper turned his head towards Littlefoot, his eyes big with emotional hurt.

"I can't blame you for being cautious," he admitted sadly.

Littlefoot was about to say something, but his stomach cut him off with a deep grumble. Chomper glanced over at long-neck's belly, suddenly remembering what he had volunteered to do minutes ago. He slowly got to his feet and walked forward a bit.

"We should probably get going now," the T-Rex suggested. "You sound pretty hungry. And the others must be the same way."

Littlefoot simply nodded and began to follow Chomper through the forest.

For a while, neither one spoke to each other. However, Littlefoot couldn't help but notice that Chomper had this constant look of distress on his face. It was like there was something on his mind that he wanted to say, but just didn't know how to. Littlefoot figured that it had a something to do with what the little biter overheard back at Mystery Grounds. As much as Littlefoot wanted to know what was troubling Chomper, he didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable either. He decided the best thing he could do was keep quiet and wait for the biter to speak.

Eventually, Chomper spoke up, "Littlefoot, who's Sharptooth?"

That question made Littlefoot stop and stare at Chomper with wide eyes. Chomper noticed his response and came to a halt as well.

"You've never heard of Sharptooth?" Littlefoot questioned, rather hesitantly.

"I've heard of him a little bit." Chomper replied. "But my daddy doesn't like to talk about him. All I know is that he was once a biter that all dinosaurs were afraid of. But I heard Cera say something about him. Is he the reason she hates me?"

"Cera doesn't hate you." Littlefoot said. "She just…takes a bit of time to warm up to others."

Chomper paused for a moment to consider what Littlefoot told him. He then looked up with a glint of fear in his eyes.

"I…I also heard her say something about your mother," he confessed, sounding uncomfortable. "Did…Did he do something bad to you?"

As Chomper asked that question, his voice changed from curious to fearful. It was like he already knew a bit of the answer, but he didn't want it to be true.

Unfortunately, Littlefoot's eyes glistened with sorrow and he hung his head. That was enough to tell Chomper that Sharptooth did so something bad to to the long-neck.

"It's not a day I like to remember." Littlefoot said slowly, his tone was one of sadness. "Shortly after I met Aylene and Cera, we were attacked by Sharptooth. My mother came to save us, but…Sharptooth…he…"

The Apatosaurus winced and fought back the tears that were beginning to form on the rim of his eyes. Chomper stared at his friend with a horrible expression of regret and despair. Littlefoot didn't need to say what happened. Chomper understood perfectly well.

Sharptooth had killed Littlefoot's mother.

"Sharptooth then hunted me and my friends all the way to the Great Valley." Littlefoot explained sullenly. "We managed to defeat him with Aylene shooting an arrow in his heart and the rest of us dropping a boulder on his head that forced him to drown in a deep pond. But he's still left his scars on us. Even now it's like we can't get away from him no matter where we go."

Chomper swallowed hard. This story was making him feel sick to his stomach. But there was one other thing he needed to know.

"Littlefoot," he said softly, "was Sharptooth really a T-Rex like me?"

Littlefoot didn't say a word. He just closed his eyes and slowly nodded his head.

Chomper lowered his gaze to the ground, feeling a horrible sense of guilt rise up in his chest and twist around in his gut.

"Oh, Littlefoot," he whimpered, "I'm sorry. I really am."

The Apatosaurus looked up at the T-Rex with pity. It was clear to see that Chomper was starting to blame himself for what happened to Littlefoot and his friends. Even though he had nothing to do with it, he was still feeling that heavy guilt.

"Chomper," Littlefoot said, "that was in the past. You had nothing to do with it. Besides, you and Sharptooth may be of the same species, but you're two different dinosaurs. I know you're good, and so does everyone. I know Aylene does. If she was here, she'd tell you the same thing."

Chomper looked at Littlefoot and gave a soft smile. Littlefoot responded by smiling back at the little biter. He took in a small breath of air and prepared to speak again.

But then suddenly, a large roar came directly from behind him!

**"What's going on here?!"**

Littlefoot screamed in fright, the sudden roar almost making his heart stop beating altogether. He attempted to sprint forward, but was caught short by a thick root jutting up out of the ground. He fell over onto his front with a loud "THUMP". He quickly looked over his shoulder and saw that Chomper's mother was towering over him. With the sunlight behind her, she gave off a very menacing presence.

Littlefoot's blood ran cold at the sight of her. He thought that this would defiantly be the end for him.

However, Chomper immediately leapt into action and darted between his mother and Littlefoot. There, he stood his ground in a protective manner.

**"I-It's not what you think, Mommy!"** the little T-Rex cried in his native language. **"I was practicing hunting! Honest!"**

Rena paused for a moment, looking back and forth between her son and the trembling longneck. She didn't look mad, nor did she look distrustful, but Chomper was uneasy about what she would do next. Was she going to attack Littlefoot or not?

Then, much to Littlefoot's open-mouth surprise, Rena lowered her head down towards her son and nuzzled him affectionately. Chomper laughed happily and returned the gesture.

**"Just don't play with your food, little one."** Rena said with a smile. **"I'll leave you to it."**

With that, Rena lifted herself up and walked away, not looking back.

Littlefoot breathed heavily for a moment as he took in the situation. Rena had the chance to eat him, but she chose not to. Not only that, she showed something that he had never seen in a large predator before.

She showed love and tenderness. She was this giant, fearsome creature that could easily bit the little long-neck in half if she wanted to. Yet she showed that showed this strong sense of love towards her son. Littlefoot couldn't explain it, but he knew that it was genuine.

"She really loves you, doesn't she?" he said to Chomper as he got up.

"Yeah." Chomper replied bashfully.

"What'd she say anyway?"

Chomper looked up at Littlefoot and said, "She told me not to play with my food."

Littlefoot blinked at that statement. He then gave a slightly amused chuckle. Chomper also laughed a bit when he saw that his friend had somehow managed to see the humor in what his mother had said. But their moment of laughter only lasted about a second or two.

"Oh," Littlefoot moaned, "I'm sorry, Chomper."

"You don't have to be, Littlefoot." Chomper smiled innocently. "You are what you are, and I am what I am. We can't change it, but we can still be friends. Right?"

Littlefoot's spread into a big grin. "Yeah. And not just me, you know. Aylene, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike; we're all your friends. Remember what we said the day you hatched: we're a family and you're one of us now. You were always one of us. And you'll always be part of our herd, no matter what."

Chomper's face brightened as Littlefoot said that. He clearly remembered those words on the day of his birth. It was one of the happiest moments in his life.

Chomper began to feel as if a warm, shining light was glowing deep down in his soul. For so long he hadn't had a friend in the world. But now, thanks to Littlefoot's assurance, he was certain that he had found some of the best friends he could've ever hope to ask for. It didn't matter to him if they were leaf-eaters or not. They were his friends.

That was something that he knew would never change.

"C'mon!" Chomper said excitedly. "Let's go find the others some food!"

Littlefoot nodded in agreement.

With that, the two friends set out again, walking side-by-side through the forest.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ducky, Battle Scar, Bar, and Onyx had all found a way out of the canyon and were now walking along the edge of the cliff. All three of the fish-eaters were sniffing the air intently, hoping to catch a whiff of the little swimmer's friends.

"Do you smell them yet?" Ducky asked.

"Faintly." Battle Scar replied. "It was some time since they were here, so their scent had faded a bit."

"Oh, I just hope their okay," the swimmer moaned sadly.

"Don't worry." Battle Scar said. "I'm sure we'll find them soon."

Suddenly, Bar stopped dead in his tracks and began whipping his head around. The others noticed his action and came to a stop. The first thing they noticed was the look of urgency on his face.

"What is it, Bar?" Battle Scar asked, concerned.

Bar took a few more sniffs of the air before his eyes widened in terrified shock.

"Battle Scar, there's another biter on the island!" he informed, his voice bordering on fearful.

Battle Scar tensed a bit. He then began sniffing the air for the new scent that Bar had noticed. In about three seconds, it reached his nostrils and he jolted with alert.

"Savage Spine!" the scarred Baryonyx snarled defensively. "What's he doing here?!"

Onyx gasped in shock when he heard that name, and Bar growled in response to his fear.

"What's Savage Spine?" Ducky asked, suddenly very worried about the situation.

"Savage Spine is a meat-eating biter." Battle Scar replied. "He's large and vicious. We've had a few run-ins with him in the past. Just like with other prideful biters he seeks to become the next…"

It was then that Battle Scar realized something. He looked over at Ducky, and it all clicked into place. "He seeks to become the next "Walking Terror". And if you and your friends are here, and he's here…"

Ducky squeaked in fear and shivered. She didn't need any of the Baryonyx to tell her what they were thinking.

Savage Spine was here to hunt down her and her friends.

Battle Scar saw her fear and narrowed his eyes with conviction. "Don't worry. He's not going to lay a claw on any of you. Not as long as we are here. That I can promise you."

Bar and Onyx all nodded in agreement.

Ducky looked over at all of them. She felt a little safer in knowing that they would protect her, but she couldn't full shake away the worry she had for her friends. As far as she knew, none of them knew that Savage Spine was on the island. What if he found them before she did? She couldn't bare the thought of losing them to a predator like that.

"Thank you, Battle Scar. But we need to hurry and find my friends," Ducky said with worry. "I need to make sure they're all safe. I do, I do."

"We'll find them." Battle Scar replied. "I know we will. Let's keep searching."


	17. Chapter 16: Predator Rage

**Predator Rage**

Aylene adjusted her position on the boulder she was sitting on. It wasn't the rock made her uncomfortable though. It was the large T-Rex that was in front of her.

Strongfang had laid down about three yards away from her. He almost looked like a large, scaly rooster that was resting. He certainly showed that he had no intention of attacking, but Aylene couldn't shake this feeling of uneasiness. She was breathing much deeper, trying to steady her shivering nerves and keep her anxiety from going out of control.

She was also trying to avoid making eye-contact with the giant T-Rex. She just couldn't seem to hold his gaze for very long without a shiver going down her spine.

But she at least wanted to keep his jaws in her line of vision. She definitely wanted to keep an eye on those things.

After a moment of silence, Strongfang let out a deep exhale.

"Tell me," he said, "what was your name again?"

"Aylene." Aylene replied, glancing down at Strongfang's lower jaw with slight apprehension.

"Ah yes, Aylene." Strongfang nodded. "So, how did you find this island?"

"It was by accident, really." Aylene replied. "The Valley was raided by locust and the herds were forced to leave. My friends and I were looking for food and we came upon this island. I certainly didn't expect to find you and your family here."

"I didn't expect you to be here either," the T-Rex replied. "What were you doing out there by yourself anyway?"

"I was looking for my friend, Ducky." Aylene said, narrowing her eyes. "She got separated from us. Do you happen to know where she is?"

"Who's Ducky? The little squeaker?"

"She's a Saruolophus. Or a swimmer as you call them. Have you seen her?"

Strongfang shook his large head, "I'm afraid not. You're the only one I've seen."

Aylene exhaled with frustration.

"I'm sure she's fine." Strongfang said, seeing the human girl's distress. "Rena, Chomper, and I are the only ones on this island. And neither one will hurt her, I promise."

Aylene looked up at Strongfang with suspicious curiosity.

"I don't get it. Why are you helping us?" she said. "I mean, I thought you would be hunting us because of…what we did."

Strongfang said nothing. He just stared at the young girl as if he expected her to elaborate on her point. It was clear to see that he was waiting for her to say something more. Aylene subconsciously picked up on that nonverbal and took a deep breath. She braced herself for what was to come, whatever it might be.

"I know Sharptooth was your brother." Aylene stated. "And I know you know my friends and I were the ones who defeated him. But what I don't understand is why you aren't angry with us. I'd think you want to get revenge."

Strongfang looked down at the ground and released a large breath of air through his nose.

"When did you find out about that?" he asked in a low voice, although he sounded like he already knew the answer.

"When Chomper left the Great Valley with you and Rena." Aylene explained. "I saw you be confronted by another T-Rex and he called you Sharptooth's brother."

"I see." Strongfang said. "Have you told anyone else about this?"

"Just my brother." Aylene replied honestly. "I haven't told any of my friends though. And my brother's sworn to secrecy not to tell anyone either."

"Good," the T-Rex lowered his head with relief. "Well then, I won't deny it. I am Sharptooth's brother."

Aylene swallowed hard.

"But," Strongfang quickly added, "just because I'm related to him by blood, don't assume that I had a good relationship with him. In fact, it was the exact opposite."

Aylene looked up with surprise, "What?"

"Let me explain."

Strongfang then took a deep breath and began to tell his story.

"Sharptooth and I were part of the same nest. Technically, he was the eldest because he hatched before I did. Even at a young age, Sharptooth was rather aggressive. He didn't listen to reason, and he got a strange thrill from fighting. As he got older, he began to hunt out of pleasure rather than for survival, something that our father had always told us not to do. This may come as a shock to you, little human, but even we biters have morals when it comes to hunting.

"Our father always told us that this world is all connected; from the largest leaf-eater to the tiniest ground-crawler. He also taught us that it is our job - as biters - to take care of it, not dominate it. He told us that even leaf-eaters deserved to live and that we should only hunt out of necessity, not pleasure."

Aylene blinked in astonishment. She wasn't exactly shocked, but she was a little more than surprised to hear that piece of news.

"However," Strongfang continued, "Sharptooth didn't like listening to our father. For some reason, he saw himself as above the laws of the world. And not just towards the leaf-eaters either. He would often push me around and force me to fight him. While that helped me hone my fighting skills, I hated every moment of it. He did the same thing with our younger siblings, too. Of course, he treated leaf-eaters the worst. He would challenge any that crossed his path, and he would show no mercy. But on a stormy night, he took it too far when he challenged a herd of longnecks. That was a foolish choice."

Aylene leaned in closer, listening intently. At the mention of a longneck herd, she suddenly remembered something that Littlefoot had said before about Sharptooth mostly targeting long-necked dinosaurs. She was starting to get a nervous feeling that it was going to connect with what Strongfang was going to say next.

"The whole family came to stop him." Strongfang's voiced dropped down very low in bitterness. "But this herd of longnecks was very large and had some of the strongest males I had ever seen in my life. Sharptooth had managed to take two down, but the rest of the herd would've crushed him. We managed to rescue him, but…"

Strongfang winced and turned away, "Only three of us got away: Sharptooth, our father, and myself. Our mother as well as the rest of our brothers and sisters didn't make it."

Aylene's eyes widened in horror and she inhaled deeply.

Strongfang's family was killed by longnecks? Was that why Sharptooth hated longnecks so much?

Strongfang's eyes narrowed, "That's when Sharptooth lost it. He was consumed by anger and hatred that his judgment had been clouded completely. He said he wanted to avenge our family, and even told our father that he was going to wipe out all longnecks for what they had done. Our father didn't agree with this plan, saying that committing such an act would throw this world out of balance. He also warned Sharptooth that his pride and hatred would send him down a dark path.

"But Sharptooth didn't listen. Something inside of him had snapped a long time ago. He…he killed our father. He killed him right before my eyes."

Aylene froze in shock. She brought a fist up to her heart and her face turned pale.

Sharptooth had killed his own father? What could possibly drive him to do that?

"Sharptooth then turned on me." Strongfang continued, his voice deep and sorrowful. "Since he and I had fought in the past, I was able to hold my own against him. I managed to save myself, but Sharptooth swore to me that he would make me suffer. He vowed that if I had ever found a mate and had a family, he would return and slaughter them right in front of me."

"No," Aylene whispered, her voice shaky.

Strongfang nodded solemnly. "That was the last I saw of him. And that was years ago. However, I continued to hear stories about him throughout my travels. His condition had only gotten worse. Not only was he killing leaf-eaters, he was killing members of his own kind as well. But he wasn't so mad as to eat any. In any culture, cannibalism is the worst crime for any dinosaur to commit, meat-eater or otherwise. But that didn't stop him from destroying any dinosaur he came across. That is how he became the "Walking Terror".

"Many had tried to take him down, but they were unsuccessful. Most of them never escaped with their lives. There were only two I could think of who managed to beat him in a fight and live, but even they couldn't defeat him for good."

"Only two?" Aylene questioned, her eyes widening with realization. "Were they a human and a Diplodocus?"

"Diplodocus?" Strongfang asked, unsure of what that word meant.

"A longneck." Aylene replied.

"Ah," Strongfang nodded in understanding. "Yes, they were. They were known to everyone as the Lone Wanderers."

"That was my grandma!" Aylene exclaimed, excited that she had made the connection. "She told me she fought Sharptooth once in the Great Valley!"

"Indeed." Strongfang said. "Your grandmother and her friend were strong and brave. But they were also lucky. Like I said, not many who stood up to Sharptooth lived. And while the Lone Wanderers managed to beat him, they didn't defeat him for good. And that fight only made Sharptooth worse than before. He continued to terrorize the land for years. It seemed to be hopeless for anyone to stop him."

Strongfang then turned to Aylene. This time, they looked at each other straight in the eye. Aylene shrunk back from the powerful stare of Strongfang's eyes, but she couldn't tear herself away from them either. It's like they were forcing her to look at them.

"Then you and your friends came along." Strongfang said, smiling softly. "I don't know whether it was by some miracle or not, but you all somehow defeated him. I know you didn't mean to, but you also saved my family, too. For that, I am truly grateful."

Aylene looked down at the rock and thought for a moment. Although Strongfang sounded very honest in his words, she was still hesitant to believe him. She remembered something he said to Chomper earlier.

"If what you say is true," she said suspiciously, "then what was with that comment to Chomper about us being 'dessert'?"

Strongfang blinked once. He then gave a light chuckle.

"Oh, sorry. That was a figure of speech we biters have," he said. "It means we welcome company at dinner."

"Oh." Aylene replied, nodding in understanding. "I guess Chomper didn't know that either."

Aylene's eyes drifted over to a small patch of grass on the side of the rock and frowned with guilt. She was now certain that Strongfang was telling her the truth. Just hearing the sincerity in every word he spoke made her feel awful about assuming the worst of him.

She was wrong about him, and she knew it.

"Strongfang," Aylene said contritely, "I've gotta to say this. I'm really sorry. I just assumed you were an enemy because you're a predator. And I saw you as a bad guy just because of your family connection to Sharptooth. But I know you're not lying to me. After all, you wouldn't have anything to gain by lying, would you?"

Strongfang shook his head.

"I'm sorry." Aylene apologized again.

"It's alright, Aylene." Strongfang replied. "I would've been the same way, too."

"I just have one more question." Aylene said, looking back up at the T-Rex. "Why was Sharptooth the way he was? What caused him to go on a rampage?"

Strongfang glanced away and thought for a moment.

Finally, he took a deep breath and looked back at Aylene.

"Sharptooth had a rare condition that some biters of my species can get," he explained. "No one fully understands how it works or where it comes from. Even my father didn't understand it completely. We call it Predator Rage."

"Predator Rage?" Aylene questioned, biting her lip. She didn't like the sound of that.

"It's a condition where biters become more aggressive than they normally behave." Strongfang said. "On one hand, it can help biters in a hunt, as they seem to have their senses high and on alert to the point that nothing can get by them most of the time. However, it is also very dangerous, and not just for the those around the one with this condition. Whenever Sharptooth went into this Rage, he seemed to lose his sense of self. We could tell not just by his out-of-control behavior, but also because he couldn't communicate at all. He did nothing but roar and growl. There were only a few times he could speak words, but even then he couldn't speak clearly."

Aylene blinked. Suddenly, she realized why she couldn't understand Sharptooth when she first came to this world. It wasn't that the Time Stone didn't grant her the power, he was in a state where he couldn't even speak.

For a moment, she remained silent as she thought about what Strongfang told her. Although she wasn't sure, this Predator Rage sounded close to something like a disorder of some kind. At least, that was the closest thing she could compare it to.

"So he was under the influence of some kind of disorder?" she asked.

Strongfang nodded slowly. This made Aylene frown in sadness.

"What's wrong?" Strongfang asked, cocking his head a bit.

"It's just that," Aylene said slowly, "well, if Sharptooth was inflicted with something he had no control over, then I guess I feel kind of sorry for him now. I now wonder if there was another way we could've helped him instead of…well…you know."

"Hmph," Strongfang grunted sympathetically, "you have a big heart, Aylene. And that is a good trait. But I'm afraid Sharptooth didn't want any help. And in the situation you and your friends were in, it was either him or you."

Aylene let out a small groan. Although she knew Strongfang was right, she still couldn't help but feel bad about the whole situation. But there was no point in dwelling on the past. She shook her head and decided to get back to the topic at hand.

"So this Predator Rage is only found in T-Rexes, right?" she said.

Strongfang nodded.

"I guess it might something genetic then. I mean, if it's a rare condition that seems to be ingrained in a T-Rex, then I can only guess its in the genes."

"I don't quite understand what you mean by all that," Strongfang replied, "but if you mean it can be passed down through generations, then yes."

"I see." Aylene said thoughtfully. "So how do you know if a T-Rex has Predator Rage? Is it triggered by something?"

"Well, I can't speak for all biters," Strongfang admitted, "but I'm guessing it's triggered when they're either under stress or in the heat of battle. For Sharptooth, it was mostly triggered by the thrill of the hunt. Normally, this would last for a few moments before he went back to his old self. But then something must've happened to him where it became permanent."

"What do you mean by 'permanent'?" Aylene asked, swallowing hard.

"Shortly after I had heard of the Lone Wanderers victory over Sharptooth," Strongfang explained, "I began to hear stories of him ravaging the land. By the descriptions, I knew that he was in Predator Rage, and that he hadn't come out of it. I'm guessing you saw what he looked like when he confronted you and your friends."

Aylene shuddered. Of course she remembered what Sharptooth looked like. She could never forget the savagery and emptiness in those blood-red eyes.

Hold on, blood-red eyes?

Aylene's eyes then widened in cold shock as a memory from earlier that day shot forward in her mind.

"Um, Strongfang?" she said worriedly. "Another question: what does a T-Rex look like when they're in Predator Rage? Do their eyes change at all?"

Strongfang looked at Aylene with curiosity. He then became concerned when he saw the fear in her face.

"Yes, actually," he answered. "The color of their eyes expand out and cover their whole eye."

Ice went through Aylene's bloodstream when she heard that. She brought her hands up to her head and grabbed her hair in tight fists.

"Oh, that's not good!" she said nervously. "That's not good at all!"

"Aylene, what's the matter?" Strongfang asked, sensing her sudden panic.

"Strongfang, I'm not entirely certain, but…I think Chomper has Predator Rage, too!"

"What?!" Strongfang jolted, his face changing from concerned to worried. "How do you know?!"

"Because when he was chasing us earlier, all that came out of his mouth was roars and growls!" Aylene said fearfully. "And when he cornered us, I saw his eyes! They were just like Sharptooth's when he was in Predator Rage!"

"No!" Strongfang shook his head forcefully. "That can't be! Are you sure of what you saw?!"

Aylene nodded with uncomfortable certainty, clasping her hands together and swallowing the lump in her throat.

Strongfang began to breathe heavily in distress. He didn't want to believe what he was being told, but he could sense no ounce of deception in this human girl. It was clear that she cared for Chomper just as much as he did. After all, why would she keep the secret of his lineage from her friends if she didn't?

But if what she was saying was true…

"Aylene, get on my back!" Strongfang ordered. "We have to find my son!"

"O-Okay!" Aylene stuttered. "But why?!"

Strongfang got up from his spot and rushed over to Aylene. When he reached her, he lowered himself down so that she could climb up onto the base of his neck.

"If Chomper does have Predator Rage, then it could be triggered at any moment!" the T-Rex said. "And at the age he is, he may not have control over himself!"

"Hold on!" Aylene shrieked. "You're telling me he's like a ticking time-bomb?!"

"I'm saying that if he's with your friends and that condition acts up, someone is going to get hurt!" Strongfang said harshly. "Now hurry!"

Aylene nodded obediently and scrambled up onto Strongfang's back as fast as she could. The moment she was securely on, Strongfang rose up and began to maneuver through the dense forest at an incredible speed for a dinosaur of his size. He knew his son well enough to know where he could find him. And if he found Chomper, then he was sure he would find Aylene's friends, too.

As for Aylene, she was just hoping that they found the others in time. Littlefoot aside, Cera, Petrie and Spike were still wary of Chomper. And if he went into this Predator Rage, and accidently lashed out at one of them, then something horrible would no doubt come from that. And it would end with someone getting severely hurt, or possibly killed.

Aylene shook the thought away. She couldn't afford to think like that. The best thing she could do at the moment was concentrate on finding her friends.

"Guys," she whispered to herself, "just be safe until I find you."


	18. Chapter 17: Must Protect

**Must Protect**

After some time of foraging for food, Littlefoot and Chomper headed back toward Mystery Grounds. With Littlefoot's help, Chomper was able to gather the right kind of vegetation to feed the others back at the hiding place. Using their mouths to hold one corner of a giant leaf with a variety of other leafs and fruit piled on it, the Apatosaurus and T-Rex pulled it across the forest floor. Since they had found so much, the process was pretty slow going.

"I hope we got enough." Chomper said through his teeth.

"Don't worry, we got enough." Littlefoot replied in the same way. "Let's get it back to the others."

The two friends pulled the leaf about a few more feet when Chomper suddenly stopped.

"Chomper?" Littlefoot looked over at his friend.

A look of mild worry came over Littlefoot's face when he saw Chomper. The little biter's red eyes were darting around with defensive concern, and he was standing like he was braced for a sudden attack. He was sniffing the air intently. It was obvious that he had caught a whiff of a scent he didn't recognize. He then turned in the direction where the scent was the strongest and began towards it with cautious footsteps. He also lowered himself a bit to get lower than the top of the bushes.

"What is it, Chomper?" Littlefoot asked anxiously.

"Shh," Chomper commanded in a hushed voice. "Follow me, Littlefoot. But stay close and keep low to the ground."

"Why?" Littlefoot whispered. "What's wrong?"

"There's something here." Chomper explained. "Just stay close."

Littlefoot hesitated for a moment before swallowing hard and nodding. Littlefoot then lowered himself as far as he could and began to follow Chomper through the dense clump of bushes and grass.

As Chomper lead Littlefoot through the forest, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. Being a predatory dinosaur, Chomper's sense of smell was very strong. He could smell things that leaf-eaters like Littlefoot couldn't. He not only could smell what kind of species the dinosaur was, he could also tell how old it was and what its gender was, just by its very distinct scent.

He could also pick up other things from it as well.

And there was something about the scent he picked up that didn't smell right, which made Chomper defensive.

Chomper sniffed the air, his brain examining the scent. It belonged to a meat-eater, and it was a male, but didn't belong to his father. The meat-eater was a grown-up, just a little bit past his prime, and was very large. Normally, that wasn't anything suspicious. However, there was one more detail that made this smell foreboding. Chomper couldn't quite explain it in words, but the scent had a menacing, bloodlust smell to it. Through that detail alone, Chomper could tell one thing: this mysterious newcomer was on the hunt. But it wasn't just a hunt for food.

Whoever this biter was, he was out for blood.

After Chomper registered that much, he realized something else. The scent was getting stronger. At the same time, the little biter felt the ground tremble beneath his feet.

That biter was close.

"Littlefoot, get down!" Chomper ordered suddenly, still keeping his voice low.

Littlefoot immediately obey and dropped down flat on his stomach at the same time Chomper did. It was now that Littlefoot started to feel the intervals of small earthquake-like tremors. And with each passing second, they were getting closer and closer. Pretty soon, something changed that made Littlefoot hold his breath in fear.

Deep growling noises were drawing nearer and nearer.

"Chomper," Littlefoot whispered almost under his breath. "What's that?"

Chomper didn't answer. He was fixated on the growls that were coming their way. Those noises weren't just snarls to him; they were part of a language that he understood. And while the distance made the words just slightly muffled, Chomper had managed to pick up a crucial piece of information.

**"They're close,"** a deep, spine-shaking voice said with eagerness. **"They're so very close. Sharptooth's defeaters are here. The title is within my grasp. They're here somewhere. I can smell them now. That long-neck's close, I can smell him. I know he's very close."**

Upon hearing that, two things registered immediately in Chomper's mind.

The first one was that he heard the phrase "Sharptooth's defeaters". He remembered what Littlefoot had said earlier about how he and his friends took down Sharptooth during their journey to the Great Valley. That told the little biter that this larger biter was after Littlefoot and the others.

And the second thing that registered in Chomper's mind, and the one that made him the most fearful, was that this larger biter had picked up Littlefoot's scent and was closing in on it.

If that biter found Littlefoot, the little Apatosaurus wouldn't stand a chance.

Chomper knew he had to do something, and he had to do it fast.

"Littlefoot," Chomper whispered urgently, "that biter is going to be here any second. You have to get back to the hideout and warn the others. I'll create a distraction, and when I do, you have to make a run for it."

"What?" Littlefoot jolted. "I can't leave you to do that."

"It's you he's after." Chomper stated. "He's following your scent."

Littlefoot fell silent at that and a look of worry covered his face.

"Now listen," Chomper continued. "I'll be fine. I know how biters think. Just get back to the others and tell them not to leave the Mystery Grounds…!"

Chomper didn't get to finish his sentence because at that moment, the top of the bush he and Littlefoot were hiding under was suddenly torn through by viciously strong and sharp teeth. Littlefoot let out an involuntary scream as those teeth barely missed his back. He and Chomper both looked up and stared in terror.

Towering over the two of them was an enormous, green biter with spiked plates on his back. Chunks of the bush he had just decimated fell from his open jaws along with the saliva dripping from his sharp teeth.

And his fiery red eyes were locked right onto Littlefoot. The young longneck took one look at those eyes and trembled fearfully.

**"Found you, long-neck!"** the biter snarled.

"LITTLEFOOT RUN!" Chomper cried. "RUN!"

Just as the large biter moved in for the kill, Littlefoot and Chomper both dashed away from the spot, narrowly escaping. The plated-back biter roared angrily as soil and grass filled his mouth. He immediately spat it back out with disgust. He turned his head sharply in the direction the little long-neck and purplish biter were heading and began to race after them.

**"You will not escape!"** he shouted.

Littlefoot and Chomper ran through the forest like there was a fire at their heels. They dodged in and out of tall trees in hopes of losing their pursuer. They didn't stop for a second. Those vicious roars, and the pounding of monstrous talon feet forced the adrenaline in both them to spread through their bodies like rapids in a river.

What made matter worse was that those roars and footsteps sounded like they were getting closer.

Only Chomper dared to look back and see how far the other biter was. Much to his horror, that biter was getting closer and closer with each step he took.

There was only one way Chomper could of to save Littlefoot and to get help. He had to make that biter chase him.

"Littlefoot!" Chomper yelled. "I'll lure him away and find my parents! You get back to the hiding place and tell the others!"

Littlefoot was about to protest against the idea, but Chomper didn't give him time to. The little biter stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face the pursuing carnivore. Littlefoot kept on running like he was told to, but he couldn't help but looked back at his friend with worry. Chomper was a pipsqueak compared to that other predator. How in the world did he think he could stand up to that monster?

At the same time, Littlefoot was amazed that Chomper appeared to be so fearless. He was just a child, but he looked as if he wasn't terrified at all.

In truth, Chomper was absolutely terrified, so much that he couldn't hide his shaking limbs, and he couldn't stop the racing of his heart. But something stronger than his fear made him stand his ground. It was like some kind of instinct he never knew he had inside him took control, giving him courage.

He wanted to protect his friend. And he was going to do it.

**"Hey, big guy!"** Chomper shouted to the approaching biter, waving his arms wildly. **"Come and get me!"**

The large biter looked at Chomper for a moment.

Thinking that he had gotten the larger biter's attention, Chomper made a dash to his left. He ran a few yards away, listening for the other biter chasing him. However, he quickly realized that the other biter WASN'T chasing him. The heavy footsteps were running right past him, and Littlefoot was screaming in terror.

Chomper skidded to a desperate stop and turned around quickly.

To his horror, the green biter was still going after Littlefoot!

**"You're not getting away, long-neck!"** he roared with savage determination. **"I know you defeated Sharptooth! You won't escape your fate!"**

Chomper scowled and turned back towards the big biter. At this point, he was going to try just about anything to save his friend, no matter how ridiculous or stupid it might be. When he got close enough to the biter's feet, he began to run back and forth between his heels, nipping at them when he got the chance. If he could keep this biter distracted, Littlefoot might just have enough time to get away.

The large biter growled with annoyance as Chomper gave one more nip. He then stopped, and turned around, towering over Chomper with a very angry expression on his face. Chomper froze like ice when he noticed just how big this biter was. This biter was bigger than Chomper's father. And now was the time when Chomper realized that this predator could easily devour him in one bite. Chomper wanted to back away, but his legs were stiff with fear.

However, this biter had no intention on eating Chomper. He had no interest in the biter whatsoever. He just saw him as a nuisance.

**"Buzz off, you little gnat!"** he roared.

Then with a swing of his tail, the biter whacked Chomper as if he was a fly. Chomper yelped in pain as the enormous tail hit him straight into a tree. He collapsed to the ground, stunned.

"CHOMPER!" Littlefoot cried, stopping for only a moment.

However, the moment that larger biter turned around and zeroed in on him, Littlefoot hastily backed away. The green biter let out a bellowing roar and charged towards him. Littlefoot let out a cry for help before turning around and running away.

There was no mistaking it now: that predator was after Littlefoot and only him. But why? Chomper was an easy target. Why was this predator just going after Littlefoot?

As soon as Littlefoot questioned that, the answer immediately hit him like a rock.

This biter was after him because he was one of the ones who defeated Sharptooth. Of course, he was after him because he wanted the title of "Walking Terror".

Just thinking of that made Littlefoot's heart clench with panic, and his blood felt like it had frozen inside his veins.

He was more than scared now. He was running for his life. He couldn't let this predator catch him. He had no defense against this monster. If he was caught, he would be a goner for sure.

Oh, he wished Aylene was here. She would know what to do. She was always there to save him before. She just had to come and rescue him again now. Any moment, she would appear from nowhere and help him with her skilled archery.

But Aylene didn't show up.

Where was she?!

Panic-stricken, Littlefoot began to cry out in desperation.

"AYLENE! AYLENE! WHERE ARE YOU?! CERA! PETRIE! SPIKE! SOMEONE! ANYONE! HELP! HELP ME!"

* * *

As Littlefoot raced away, and as that horrible biter pursued him, Chomper slowly lifted himself up off the ground. He shook his head and opened his eyes as far as they could go. He watched as the larger biter chased after the long-neck. At the same time, he heard Littlefoot cry out in undeniable fear over and over again.

"No," he groaned. "Littlefoot."

Just hearing that little Apatosaurus, and knowing that someone wanted to intentionally harm his friend, made Chomper feel angry. He shut his eyes and his whole body shook with rage.

Chomper almost never felt this kind of emotion of anger, but he knew what it was. He was angry because he couldn't stand anyone bringing harm to those he cared about.

And Littlefoot was someone he cared about.

This emotion. This desire to protect. It grew stronger and stronger. It became so great that it triggered something deep within the little predator.

Soon Chomper's world became one big haze.

The small T-Rex snapped his eyes open, revealing them to be blood-shot red.

He opened his mouth menacingly and a deep growl vibrated in his throat. All of his senses suddenly felt as if they had been fine-tuned even more than they already were. His muscles tensed, like he was preparing himself for a fight, and he breathed heavily. His teeth were ready to dig into the flesh of the one who dared to threaten someone he cared about.

**"Friend!"** he snarled. **"Must…Protect…FRIEND!"**

Fueled by raging levels of adrenaline, Chomper charged through the forest with only one intention on his mind.

Protect the long-neck.


	19. Chapter 18: To the Rescue

**To the Rescue**

_Back at the Stinky Place…_

"Cera, you think this a good idea?" Petrie asked skittishly as he, Cera and Spike made their way out of the stinky flower bushes. "Chomper said stay hidden."

"He and Littlefoot have been gone for a long time." Cera replied sternly, her face full of concentration. "Not to mention, Aylene and Ducky are still missing. We can't just sit here and do nothing."

"But what if they come back and we gone?" Petrie said. "Oh, at this rate, we all be lost."

"We're not going to get lost, Petrie." Cera groaned irritably. "You could smell these stink flowers from a mile away."

Eventually, the Triceratops, Pteranodon, and Stegosaurus emerged out of the tall grass. They stopped for a moment to make sure they were all together. They then turned and began to walk away from the Stinky Place. They hadn't gone more than a few yards when the sound of giant footsteps stopped them dead in their tracks. They could feel the vibrations in the ground increasing by the second.

That meant that whatever was approaching them was big, and it was close.

"What that?" Petrie squeaked with fear.

"Let's just get back to the hideout before we found out." Cera ordered.

However, the moment the little trio turned around, they stopped again by a large, webbed, three-toed talon foot. They're eyes immediately shot up to the owner of that foot, and they all screamed in absolute fear when they saw a large red biter with the head of a gator looking down at them with wide eyes. Their fear only skyrocketed when they saw two more biters of the same species right behind him. Their only line of retreat had been cut off by these biters as well.

For one awful moment, the three thought that they were going to be predator chow for sure.

But that all changed when they heard a very familiar voice call out to them.

"Cera! Petrie! Spike! It's you!"

The Triceratops, Pteranodon and Stegosaurus all fell silent at the exact same moment. They immediately looked up to where the voice had come from, and they found themselves dumbstruck.

Up on the giant red biter, leaning over and smiling at them, was Ducky.

"Oh, I'm so glad you guys are okay!" Ducky said joyfully. "I am, I am!"

"Ducky?!" Petrie squawked. "What're you doing up there?!"

"It's okay." Ducky replied reassuringly. "Battle Scar's a friend."

"Who?" Cera said, her mouth dropping.

"I'm Battle Scar," the red biter replied.

"IT TALK!" Petrie screeched with surprise.

"Petrie, please calm down." Ducky said soothingly. "These guys aren't mean predators. They're fish eaters."

It was only now that Ducky realized that something about the situation wasn't right.

"Wait, where are Littlefoot, Aylene, and Chomper?" she asked with concern.

"Well," Cera said slowly, still befuddled, "Aylene went to look for you, and Littlefoot went with Chomper to look for some food. But none of them have come back. We were going to look for them you and your biter friends nearly gave us a heart-attack."

As soon as Cera said that amount of information, Battle Scar inhaled sharply and a glint of worry appeared in his eyes. He turned to look at his fellow biters. They all shared the same look. Ducky noticed their reaction and became afraid.

"This isn't good." Battle Scar said in a deep voice. "And with Savage Spine on the Island."

"Savage Spine?" Cera questioned.

"Cera, there's another biter on the island." Ducky informed worriedly. "We have to find the others before he does."

In just a few seconds after Ducky said those words, a violent, bone-chilling roar sounded through the forest. To Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike, it was nothing more than a mindless roar. But to Battle Scar, Bar, and Onyx, it was a deep voice that resonated with malevolent victory. And it was a voice that they knew pretty well.

**"I've got you now long-neck! Nowhere to run!"**

At the same time, a terrified scream shot through the air in a desperation for help. It a scream that the Gang knew all too well.

"LITTLEFOOT!" they all cried in unison.

"He's in trouble!" Ducky whined with fear.

"It's Savage Spine." Battle Scar growled savagely. "He must've cornered your friend."

"What we do now?!" Petrie screeched. "Littlefoot in big trouble!"

Battle Scar and his biter companions responded to that by glaring in the direction the commotion came from and turning towards it. Every muscle in their bodies were tense, and their stances were strong. The scent of that malicious biter was strong in their noses, and it was soon joined by the scent of a young long-neck.

They had found their targets.

"We're going to save him." Battle Scar said with determination. "Bar, Onyx, I'm going to need your help."

"We're with you, Battle Scar." Bar answered.

Onyx simply grunted and nodded in agreement.

"Then come!" Battle Scar ordered. "We haven't much time!"

With the command given, the three biters set off in a hurried pace through the forest. Cera and Spike ran close behind them. Petrie flew up above Battle Scar to pick Ducky up and bring her back down to the three-horn and spike-tail. He set her on the base of Spike's neck before flying back up alongside the large red biter.

The only thing that was on everyone's mind now was hoping that they would reach Littlefoot before it was too late.

* * *

If Littlefoot wasn't terrified before, he certainly was now.

Not only was he being chased by a monstrous biter out of vengeance, but he was also now standing on the edge of a cliff that dropped straight down into the raging ocean below. In his desperation to escape his pursuer, he accidently took a wrong turn and ended up out of the forest. He managed to skid to a stop when he realized that he was approaching a cliff. He froze for only a moment. He couldn't help but look down at the dark, rushing waters that splashed up against the side of the island.

The idea that he almost ended up down there send chills down his spine.

His trance was soon broken when a thunderous roar came from behind him.

Littlefoot whipped around and stared in terror as that plated biter stormed out of the forest like a living nightmare. Its fiery red eyes were locked right onto the fearful long-neck, and its teeth dripped with saliva.

**"I've got you now long-neck!"** the biter snarled triumphantly**. "Nowhere to run!"**

Littlefoot didn't need to understand the biter language to know that this one had cornered him. As Littlefoot backed away out of instinct, his back foot nearly slipped off the edge of the cliff. He looked back briefly to see how dangerously close he was to falling off into the sea. He quickly snapped his head back around to the large biter approaching him and he held his breath in utter fear.

He was trapped for sure. All that biter needed to do was take a few more steps and he would be right on top of Littlefoot. Then the last thing Littlefoot would see were the open jaws of that beast. Just thinking about that made the little Apatosaurus tremble.

However, just as the large biter took another step, a bone-crunching "CHOMP" came from behind him. The biter let out a howl of pain and whipped his tail around. He snarled in shock when he saw that purple biter from before digging his teeth into his tail with all the strength he had.

"Chomper?!" Littlefoot shrieked in confusion. "What are you doing?!"

Chomper didn't respond. He just kept on digging his teeth deeper and deeper into the plated biter's tail until he drew blood.

**"Get off me, you little pest!"** the large biter roared angrily.

Chomper wasn't listening. It was like he had blocked out the rest of the world. He just kept biting and digging his teeth into the large biter's tail.

Littlefoot watched in both amazement and fear when he saw the way Chomper was biting. It was unlike anything he had seen Chomper do before. This was a rip-off-a-chunk-of-flesh-and-throw-it-away kind of bit. And soon, Chomper wasn't just using his teeth, but also his claws. He scratched and dug the claws of his hands and feet deep into the flesh of this biter with viciousness, causing the large biter to roar and thrash around wildlyFinally, the green biter had enough with Chomper and whipped his tail around towards himself.

**"THAT DOES IT!"** he shouted with rage.

Littlefoot gasped with fright as the biter closed in on Chomper with his large jaws wide open.

Chomper seemed to have sensed that the biter was going to attack him. For just as the biter was about to seized him in his jaws, Chomper's eyes snapped open and he released his hold on the biter's tail. He fell to the ground and the larger biter bit down hard on his own tail. By the time the biter had realized what happened, a huge wave of sharp pain shot through his whole body. He let out a horrible roar that sounded like a monster crying.

However, that moment of pain only lasted for a second. It was soon replaced by rage. The moment he turned around to face Littlefoot and Chomper, the hatred in his eyes had grown immensely.

He wanted payback! Littlefoot could see that clearly!

"CHOMPER!" Littlefoot cried. "RUN AWAY!"

But Chomper didn't seem to hear Littlefoot. He just run up and placed himself protectively between his long-neck friend and the large biter.

It was then that Littlefoot began notice Chomper's behavior. The little T-Rex's mouth was opened in a menacing fashion. His jaws were tense, and the little bit of blood on them gave off a really creepy vibe. His muscles were all taught, like he was getting ready to fight again. His breathing was very hard and deep, like he was trying to hold back whatever anger he had.

But what freaked Littlefoot out the most was Chomper's eyes. They weren't cute and innocent anymore. They were blood-shot red and had a very, very sinister gleam in them. It was like something had taken over Chomper and was controlling him.

**"Friend!"** Chomper snarled at the monstrous biter. **"Protect friend!"**

The larger biter growled savagely and began to advance on the two little dinosaur again.

However, before he could attack them, a decisive "twang" came out of what seemed to be nowhere. In a millisecond, something sharp pierced through the larger biter's leg and he howled in agony.

**"Stay away from my friends!"** a female voice shouted angrily.

Littlefoot looked over to his left. What he saw made a jolt of hope surge through his whole body.

It was Aylene! And she was riding on top of Chomper's father, Strongfang! And beside them was Chomper's mother, Rena!

The larger biter also turned sharply to see the intruders, and was met with a very, very angry roar from Strongfang.

**"Get away from my son, Savage Spine!"** Strongfang warned viciously.

**"Strongfang!"** the biter named Savage Spine snarled. **"I should've known!"**

**"Aylene!" **Rena said to the human girl. **"Go help the others! Strongfang and I can handle Savage Spine!"**

**"Got it!" **Aylene nodded.

As Strongfang and Rena approached Savage Spine, Aylene slid down Strongfang's back and landed firmly on the ground. While the two T-Rexes got the larger predator's attention, she then ran around to meet up with Littlefoot and Chomper.

"Aylene!" Littlefoot yelled. "You're alive!"

But Aylene's attention was soon on Chomper. Her face when pale when she saw the look in his eyes. There was no mistaking that look at all.

_"Oh no, he DOES have Predator Rage!"_ her mind said frantically. _"What do I do?!"_

Aylene had only a second to come up with a solution, because Chomper looked like he was about to attack Savage Spine again. He was already taking steps towards that monster biter's tail again.

**"Protect friend!"** he snarled angrily.

"Littlefoot!" Aylene screeched. "Stop Chomper!"

"What?!" Littlefoot jolted in surprise.

"Stop him! Hurry!"

Littlefoot, scared and confused, looked back and forth between Aylene and Chomper. Just what did Aylene expect him to do? What could he do? There was no telling what Chomper would do to him in the state he was currently in. Littlefoot didn't even know what was wrong with Chomper. But seeing as he was the closest one to Chomper, he figured that he had to at least try something. But what? How could he stop Chomper and not get hurt at the same time?

The moment Littlefoot saw that Chomper was about to attack again, he thought as fast as he could and ran up behind him. He then did something that bordered on desperation.

He pinned Chomper down with his body.

Chomper snarled and snapped viciously in response. Littlefoot had to lean his head back to prevent himself from getting bitten. He did everything he could to stop Chomper from wriggling free, but that was getting kind of hard to do when Chomper refused to stay still for more than a second.

"Chomper, snap out of it!" Littlefoot shouted. "Get ahold of yourself!"

This time, Littlefoot's voice seemed to reach Chomper. The little T-Rex stopped thrashing around and became perfectly still. He then shook his head and his eyes began to change. They reverted back to that child-like innocence that Littlefoot knew.

Seeing his friend calm down, Littlefoot quickly got off of Chomper and gave him some room to get up. By the time he had stopped, Aylene had reached the two of them.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked concerned.

"I think so." Littlefoot nodded. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Aylene answered.

"Chomper, are you okay?"

The human and Apatosaurus both looked at Chomper. They started to become a little worried when they saw that he had a rather dazed expression on his face. He then slowly turned and looked at the two of them.

"Littlefoot?" he said in a weak voice. "Aylene? What's going on?"

"You okay, Chomper?" Littlefoot asked with concern. "You were acting kind of weird."

Chomper just looked even more confused. He then became aware of his surroundings and gave an expression of absolute befuddlement.

"What? How did we end up here?" he asked, licking his teeth. "And why do I taste blood on my teeth?"

Aylene's eyes widened. She soon realized what was going on. Chomper had no recollection of the fight that took place. That must have been because he was under the influence of the Predator Rage. That was the only explanation.

**"Aylene!"** Rena suddenly roared. **"Get you friend and Chomper to safety!"**

Aylene jolted and remembered that they were still in danger. She looked back around to see Strongfang and Savage Spine circling each other like two male lions, snarling and snapping at each other. Rena was hanging back as a reserved defense, but she was fully ready to leap into the fight if she had to.

"C'mon, guys!" Aylene said urgently. "We have to get out of here now!"

"Right!" Littlefoot and Chomper said in unison.

Littlefoot, Aylene, and Chomper set off running towards the forest, hoping to find some shelter. As they did, Aylene looked back over her shoulder. She knew that the dinosaur Strongfang was fight was a Giganotosaurus. She could tell by the size of him. He was bigger than Strongfang. Not to mention, his snout was a different shape from the T-Rex's.

Aylene was trying to remember all she could about Giganotosauruses. But all she could really think of that particular moment was, _"Oh man; he's big, and he's angry."_

Just as the group of three ran through a patch of bushes, Aylene let out a small cry of startled pain. Littlefoot looked back in time to see his human friend stumble and fall to the ground.

"Aylene!" he cried.

Both Littlefoot and Chomper turned back around and ran towards Aylene. Aylene quickly sat up and looked over her leg.

"Are you okay, Aylene?" Chomper asked.

Aylene's eyes widened when she saw a clean cut on her left calf. It wasn't deep, but it did sting. When Littlefoot and Chomper got closer, they saw it, too. They all stared at it with bafflement. They didn't run through any thorn bushes. And that cut was too clean to be a cut from a branch.

A small spark of glitter caught Aylene's attention. She snapped her gaze up and saw something sharp sticking out of the bottom of a bush. She narrowed her eyes on it for a moment as her curiosity slowly got the best of her. She quickly crawled over to it and pushed the branches back. She paused and stared in surprise when she saw what it was.

"What is it, Aylene?" Littlefoot asked. "What did you find?"

Aylene responded to that question by reaching under the bush and grapping something.

"This," she said in a whispery voice.

Aylene then pulled out a long, razor sharp object. To Littlefoot and Chomper, it looked like a polished stone attached to duller rock. Aylene, on the other hand, knew exactly what this object was. She had only seen these kind of things in museums and on TV, but she had never held on until now.

It was a sword.

But it was no ordinary sword.

As Aylene studied it a little more, she realized that this wasn't made out of any normal metal. It wasn't shiny grey like regular swords. It was olive green with black swirly patterns decorating the blade. She had seen these patterns before in some sword-forging videos that Derek had shown her one time.

She inhaled in astonishment when she realized what she was holding.

This sword was made out of a kind of meteorite.


	20. Chapter 19: Fierce Loyalty

**Fierce Loyalty**

"What is that?" Chomper asked in astonishment, pointing at the sword.

"It's a sword." Aylene explained, completely forgetting about the peril they were in at the moment. "It's a weapon we humans use for close-range combat."

"Then you can use it to help Chomper's parents, right?" Littlefoot asked eagerly.

Aylene's face changed from curious to very, very worried.

"That's easier said than done because I don't know how to use this thing," she admitted embarressingly. "I've seen how it's used, but I've never handled a sword before."

The roars and cries of Strongfang, Rena, and Savage Spine caught the group's attention once again. They all turned their eyes back to the fight. Aylene and Littlefoot were not used to seeing predatory dinosaurs fighting each other. They were accustomed to a meat-eater facing off against a giant plant-eater like a long-neck or three-horn. This time, however, they were witnessing something very different.

Two T-Rexes going up against a Giganotosaurus. And by the way things were looking, things were about to get ugly.

"Beside," Aylene said nervous, "I don't really want to get caught up in the middle of THAT."

"Yeah, me neither." Littlefoot replied in a similar tone.

Strongfang and Savage Spine circled each other; their backs were arched, and their jaws tense with a readiness to strike. Every now and then, one of them would make a mock lunge and snap at the other with their massive teeth, only to retreat quickly to avoid the other's retaliation. Rena hung back to let her mate handle this fight, but she still had a defensive stance.

**"What are you doing here, Savage Spine?!"** Strongfang growled.

**"Isn't obvious, Strongfang?!"** Savage Spine spat. **"I'm here for Sharptooth's defeaters!"**

At the mention of Sharptooth, Aylene jolted and looked back at the fight with a fearful expression. She was so engrossed in the fight that she didn't notice Chomper's reaction. He, too, looked over in surprise at the name of Sharptooth.

**"You're here for the title of "Walking Terror"!"** Strongfang roared viciously. **"Why do you want that anyway?! Don't you realize that Sharptooth was a monster who lost his mind?!"**

**"He was a dinosaur with power!"** Savage Spine retorted, lunging in to snap at Strongfang's arm. **"And that power is what made him so strong! Do you know how many of us would kill for that kind of power!"**

**"You don't know what you're talking about!"** Strongfang moved away from Savage Spine's attack. **"No one does! Or are you telling me that you all want to be monsters just like him!"**

**"That rich coming from you! You've lived with him all your life! You of all biters know how strong and fierce he was!"**

**"All I know is that he was driven to madness! That so-called "power" you speak of made him nothing more than a mindless, vengeance driven beast! Did you forget that he even hunted your kind?! Why would you want a title that belonged to something like that!"**

Savage Spine snarled angrily and snapped his massive jaws towards Strongfang's face. This caused Strongfang to step back suddenly, making him lose his footing for a moment. He slipped on the dirt and fell to the ground with a loud "BOOM".

Savage Spine towered over Strongfang with a killing look in his eyes.

**"What I can't understand is why you, a brother of Sharptooth, would side with leaf-eaters!"** he growled dangerously. **"Is that why your son protected that long-neck?! Doesn't he know that is the same one who killed his uncle?!"**

**"SHUT UP!"** Strongfang roared.

Strongfang then shot up and bit down on Savage Spine's chest. His massive teeth dug into the Giganotosaurus's flesh, causing him to howl in agony as his rib bones began to break.

"Don't look!" Aylene commanded to Littlefoot, forcing him to turn his head away. She really didn't want him to see this. She could barely stand it herself.

_"There has to be something I can do, but what?!"_ she thought desperately to herself. _"I can't use my archery; I might hit Strongfang or Rena!"_ She looked down at the sword in her hand. _"I could use this, but I'd have to use it at close range! I can't risk that!"_

Aylene looked sharply back up at the fight. What she saw next made her scream out in terror.

Savage Spine swiped at Strongfang's snout with his three-talon hand. The talons sliced right through Strongfang's skin, drawing blood. A drop or two of that red liquid splattered into Strongfang's eye. The mighty T-Rex let go of his opponent and wielded back in pain.

Savage Spine took advantage of Strongfang's temporary blindness and knocked him over with vicious force. Strongfang fell to the ground and tumbled for a few feet.

**"NO, STRONGFANG!"** Aylene cried out.

Rena sprung into action the moment her mate was down. She darted right in front of Savage Spine, forcing him to focus his attention on her. She snarled and snapped at him with wicked jaws. Savage Spine was nearly caught off guard by her sudden attack, but he recovered quicker than it took for Aylene to breathe. The girl watched with wide eyes as the female T-Rex began to battle the Giganotosaurus. Rena was smaller than Savage Spine, even smaller than Strongfang was compared to that plated-dinosaur.

**"And you, Rena!"** Savage Spine growled, evading her jaw attack. **"Why in the world would choose someone like him as your mate! He's weak compared to his brother! Why would you choose him!"**

**"Because I love him!"** Rena replied angrily.** "He's not weak at all! At least was honest with me in the beginning! I made this choice, and I have no regrets!"**

**"Well then," **Savage Spine snarled, **"I wonder if you'll still cling to that when you're about to die!"**

With an underhanded move, Savage Spine lifted his left foot and swiped at Rena's right leg with the three large talons. Rena roared in pain and staggered back. But when she put pressure on right leg, the ache from her wound shot up through the rest of her body. She was about to fall to her knees when Savage Spine whipped around with his tail and smacked her right up under her jaw. The female T-Rex fell backwards and skidded through the dirt and grass. She slid right up into a tree and knocked her head against it.

**"RENA!"** Aylene cried.

"Aylene, what should we do?!" Littlefoot asked, his voice full of panic.

"I…I…!" Aylene couldn't get the words out. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to run, but she didn't want to leave Strongfang and Rena behind. But there was no way she could stand up to that monstrous predator. She could use her arrows now, but she would more than likely have one or two shots before he closed in on her and Littlefoot.

As she was going over her options, Aylene suddenly realized something.

Where was Chomper?

**"Family!"** a small voice roared angrily in the tongue of a predator. **"Protect family!"**

Aylene and Littlefoot both snapped their heads up and saw Chomper rushing towards Savage Spine.

"CHOMPER!" the human and Apatosaurus yelled.

Chomper didn't seem to hear them. He headed straight for Savage Spine. When he reached the enormous biter, he leapt forward and clamped his jaws down on the biter's left foot.

Savage Spine roared in pain and whipped around. This forced Chomper to let go and stumble back a few feet. He fell to the ground as Savage Spine towered over him. Chomper looked up viciously in response, and Savage Spine saw the little biter's eyes.

They were blood-shot red again.

**"Ah, so the little pipsqueak has Predator Rage, too," **he snarled almost amusingly. **"Not that it will save him now."**

Savage Spine then closed in for the kill. His massive teeth were eager to grab a hold of the little biter and cut him clean in half.

However, just as he had gotten within inches of Chomper, something large and sharp suddenly stabbed into his left leg. He jolted up and roared with agony as the thing that stabbed him tore away from his leg. He turned around and was shocked to see the little human girl riding on the young long-neck backing away from him. In the girl's right hand was a long, sharp object that had some blood on it.

Littlefoot and Aylene weren't quite sure what drove them to run up and stab the Giganotosaurus. All they knew was that they wanted to protect their friend no matter what. They were purely thinking with their instincts. And their loyalty to Chomper was driving them to fight back.

So Aylene threw off her bow, quiver, and gym bag, and leapt up on Littlefoot's back, gripping the sword in her hand as tight as she could. As if sensing what his human friend was thinking, the Apatosaurus rushed through the bushes towards the enormous biter. When he got in close range, Aylene followed her instincts and stabbed the sword into the biter's leg with all the strength she had. When Savage Spine turned around, she was forced to pull it out again.

Only now the two of them were starting to regret just reacting out of instinct. Because now that they had Savage Spine standing menacingly over them, they realized just how much trouble they were in.

**"Big mistake!"** Savage Spine snarled. **"NOW YOU'RE MINE!"**

Aylene and Littlefoot both screamed as Savage Spine brought his jaws down to end them. Out of reaction, Aylene lifted her sword up in a vain attempt to shield herself and Littlefoot. However, as she did, Savage Spine was stopped short by a bright, green bubble. Aylene shivered as she cracked an eye open. To her utter astonishment, the sword was glowing bright green, and seemed to be generating a kind of force field that had encased both her and Littlefoot.

"Aylene, the sword!" Littlefoot cried out when he saw what was happening.

At the same time, Aylene heard a small humming sound just below her face and looked down. Her Time Stone around her neck was glowing, just like the sword was. Her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw this.

Was the sword responding to the Time Stone?

Aylene didn't have much time to think about this tough. Because at that moment, Strongfang came charging in from what seemed to be out of nowhere.

**"STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!"** the T-Rex roared as he rammed into Savage Spine.

Then, with a rage of vengeance, Strongfang whipped himself around and whacked Savage Spine with his tail. This caused Savage Spine to stagger backwards. Aylene and Littlefoot both looked over and saw that he was heading in the direction of the cliff. Just a few more feet and he would fall off into the ocean.

But they also realized something else, too.

Chomper was in the way of Savage Spine's path!

"CHOMPER, MOVE!" Aylene and Littlefoot cried out in alarm.

Chomper didn't respond in time. Before the biter had the chance to move, Savage Spine fell over on his side and whacked Chomper with his massive tail.

**"NOOOO!"** Strongfang yelled, attempting to run forward and catch his son.

But he was too late. Chomper went sailing over the edge of the cliff along with Savage Spine, and the two of them headed down towards the ocean below. Chomper hit the water first with a loud "SPLASH", and disappeared under the waves.

"CHOMPER!" Littlefoot and Aylene cried, running up and peering over the edge. "CHOMPER!"

* * *

Whether it was from the cold shock of the water, or by the sudden realization that he wasn't on firm ground anymore, Chomper snapped back to reality. His eyes reverted back to normal and he quickly realized with a horrible jolt of fear that he was sinking in sea water.

But how did he end up down here? The last thing he remembered was that he was shocked by what Savage Spine said about his father being a brother to Sharptooth. But the moment he saw that monstrous biter attack his mother, his world went into a big haze again. Now he found himself in a watery world, and running short on air.

The pressure of the water change around Chomper as he sunk deeper and deeper. Luckily, he soon hit the bottom of the seafloor. He looked back up quickly to see how far he was from the surface. Using his legs, he pushed himself off of the sea floor and struggled to swim back up for precious air.

As he approached the surface, he was met with a horrible surprise. Savage Spine came crashing through the surface of the water. He fell past Chomper, just narrowly avoiding him, and continued to sink to the bottom. Chomper regarded this only for a second before turning his attention back to getting some air.

* * *

For a few sickening seconds, Littlefoot and Aylene looked down at the water below. They hadn't seen any sign of Chomper yet. At this point, Strongfang and Rena both recovered from their fight with Savage Spine and came running up behind the two friends. They both looked down for any sign of their son, but they could see nothing.

**"No!"** Strongfang whimpered. **"This can't be! Not again!"**

"Chomper," Littlefoot whispered fretfully, "please, PLEASE come up!"

As if answering the long-neck's prayer, Chomper suddenly burst through the water, taking in a large gulp of air. He coughed and spluttered as he tried to get out the seawater he had accidently swallowed beforehand.

"M-MOMMY!" he cried out, completely terrified.

**"Hang on, sweetie!" **Rena called back, trying to be reassuring. **"We'll get you out!"**

"Aylene, we gotta do something!" Littlefoot said urgently, turning to his friend.

To his shock, Aylene wasn't beside him. All that was there was the sword she had been carrying, and it was on the ground. But before he could guess where she was, she suddenly came running past him and dove off the cliff.

"AYLENE!" Littlefoot shouted, mortified.

* * *

Aylene completely forgot her fear of heights as she ran towards the edge and jumped off it. She took a diving position and headed straight down towards the water below. The only thing that was on her mind was rescuing Chomper no matter what it took. She took a deep breath, and in a matter of seconds, she made contact with the ocean and shot through the water like an arrow.

Suddenly, Aylene let out a cry of pain, causing big bubbles of air to escape her mouth. She shut her eyes and grabbed her leg. The cut she had gotten earlier stung horrible when it made contact with the salty water. It was enough to distract her from her original intention for a moment or two. However, she quickly remembered her objective and twisted her body around to swim back up to the surface. She quickly emerged right beside Chomper and took in a deep breath of air.

"Aylene!" Chomper whined.

"Hang on, Chomper!" Aylene commanded, wrapping one arm around him. "I'll get you out!"

However, Aylene soon realized something about Chomper she didn't think of before. Chomper might not have been much taller than her, but he was defiantly heavy. Before Aylene knew what was happening, she and Chomper started to sink again.

"Aylene, help!" the little biter cried.

"Just hang on!" Aylene strained. "We're going to make it!"

Chomper clutched at Aylene in a panic, and down they both went. Aylene struggled to stay afloot, but Chomper continued to weigh her down like a millstone. The ocean water stung Aylene's eyes and she felt a wave of fear rise up inside of her. She and Chomper were running out of air, and they were getting farther and farther away from the surface with each passing second. They were too far from the side of the island to cling onto the rock and climb up it.

They were helpless.

_"Someone help!"_ Aylene's mind cried.

At that moment, Aylene heard the sound of a muffled splash. She looked up and squinted as she tried to see what was happening. All she could make out was that a large, brownish object was rapidly approaching her and Chomper. When it reached them, Aylene felt something come up underneath her and she shot up towards the surface. The moment her head was out of the water, she inhaled deeply and wiped her eyes. She looked over to see who had saved her and a smile lit up her face.

"LITTLEFOOT!" she yelled with elation.

It was Littlefoot. The Apatosaurus had dived into the water and managed to reach Aylene and Chomper just in the nick of time. Although he wasn't the best swimmer in the world, he strength and endurance was enough to keep himself, Aylene, and Chomper afloat. Chomper hung onto Littlefoot's long neck for dear life, and Aylene slipped off her friend's back to tread water on her own.

"Thanks, Littlefoot!" Aylene said gratefully. "I thought we were goners for a moment!"

"Don't thank me yet!" Littlefoot replied. "We still have to get out of here! Let's get to calmer waters!"

Suddenly, and much to everyone's terror, Savage Spine shot up out of the water just a few yards away from Aylene, Littlefoot, and Chomper. The three turned around quickly and saw the large biter thrash around in the water wildly. He turned his head in their direction and fixed his horrible gaze on them. They all felt their blood run cold as he growled and bear his teeth at them.

**"I SWEAR I'LL PUT AN END TO YOU!"** Savage Spine roared.

**"NO, CHOMPER!"** Strongfang shouted from the top of the cliff.

Savage Spine was about to swim towards his prey and finish them off, when something even more terrifying happened.

A large Megalodon shark suddenly shot up out of the water like a torpedo, and seized Savage Spine in its jaws. Savage Spine could only let out a painful howl as those several rows of massive teeth clamped tight around his body before the Megalodon splashed back down into the water, dragging him down under the water with it.

Aylene, Littlefoot, and Chomper stared in horror at the sight. It happened so fast, but that was more than enough to send a jolt of fear through them. Not only were they stunned by what just happened, but they also realized that they were in even graver danger.

They were in SHARK territory!

"Guys!" Chomper whined. "I'm scared!"

"I-It'll be okay, Chomper!" Aylene stuttered, trying to summon her courage. "Sharks will most likely go after things that are bleeding! They're attracted to blood!"

"Aylene!" Littlefoot gasped in horror. "YOU'RE bleeding! You got that cut on your leg!"

Aylene stiffened in terror. Littlefoot was right. She had a cut on her leg. That would mean…

Aylene immediately took a deep breath of air and went under. She looked down through the water and strained to see what was around her. Although she was terrified, she wanted to at least see if anything was approaching instead of being caught by surprise by a monster fish with teeth the size of butcher knives.

At first, she saw nothing. But just as the wave of relief came over her, something moving in the darkness ahead of her caught her eyes. She snapped her eyes up, and let out a scream.

A huge Megalodon shark was heading straight towards her and Littlefoot and Chomper!

Littlefoot and Chomper saw it, too. They both saw that jagged dorsal fin rise up and cut through the water like a blade.

And it was closing in on them wickedly fast!

Aylene shot her head out of the water and screamed out of pure terror,

"HELP!"

Just as that Megalodon was about to catch its prey, three large object fell from the sky around the Aylene, Littlefoot, and Chomper, and splashed into the water. The Megalodon was suddenly stopped short as those three objects shot through the water towards it.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Chomper yelled, clutching onto Littlefoot.

"I-I DON'T KNOW!" Littlefoot replied, shocked and terrified.

* * *

Now that they were under the water, Battle Scar, Bar, and Onyx worked together as a cohesive unit to take down the Megalodon shark that had threatened to harm Sharptooth's defeaters and Strongfang's son. For any land-walking dinosaurs, this task would prove to be next to impossible.

But they were Baryonyx: dinosaurs that were made for both land and sea. They could swim through the water with just as much ease as they could walk or run on land.

And for Battle Scar and his pack, they had dealt with these kinds of creatures before. They knew exactly what to do.

The first thing they did was go for the gills. As Battle Scar managed to come up from underneath the monstrous shark and grabbed a chunk of its underbelly in his mouth, Bar and Onyx went for the gills. Using their crocodile-like jaws, the bit down and thrashed around. The shark retaliated in pain and swung its head left and right to try and get the Baryonyx off of it. But Bar and Onyx held on tightly with their talon fingers. They hooked onto the shark's skin and continued to chew out the gills of this creature. They weren't letting go so easily.

As they did, they, along with the shark, began to sink down to the bottom of the sea.

Battle Scar, using all the strength he had, shifted his body around so that he was perpendicular with the shark's. Bar and Onyx saw his action and responded accordingly. With their combined strength, the three Baryonyx swam around in a circle, forcing the Megalodon to turn over onto its back.

At that moment, the Megalodon became absolutely still.

The three Baryonyx let go and swam directly above it. Battle Scar gave one last push with his foot, and the Megalodon shark sank down into the darkness of the sea like it was nothing more than a large boulder.

Battle Scar looked back at his companions and nodded. The three then swam up to the surface, directly towards the ones they had come to save.

* * *

The next thing that Aylene, Littlefoot, and Chomper knew, they were suddenly hoisted out of the water by something large. They all looked and saw that they were on the back of a massive creature. They turned to see what kind of creature it was, and were surprise to see a massive, gator-like head with a large scar around his snout turning to look back at them. And not only him, two more of the same biters emerged from the ocean alongside them.

"That was close." Battle Scar said after he had gotten his breath back. "Are you three alright?"

"Uh, yes, I think so." Aylene replied stiffly. "But…who are you guys?"

It was then that several voices came cheering from above. Littlefoot, Aylene, and Chomper looked up, and to their smiling relief, saw their friends up on the ridge above them. Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike were all standing together beside Strongfang and Rena. Each and every one of them was laughing for joy when they saw that their friends below were safe and sound. At the same time, Strongfang and Rena were roaring with triumph as they saw their son had been rescued.

"You guys made it!" Cera shouted happily. "Good thing we made it in time!"

"Guys!" Aylene laughed. "You're all okay!"

"And we're happy you are two!" Ducky waved joyfully. "Thank you for saving them, Battle Scar, Bar, and Onyx! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Battle Scar smiled and nodded his head, acknowledging the swimmer's gratitude.

"Hold on," Littlefoot panted, "you mean you guys are friends?"

"I'll explain everything later." Battle Scar replied. "But for now, let's get you three back on land."

"Uh, okay." Aylene blinked, confused and relieved. "Thank you."


	21. Chapter 20: Naming the Blade

**Naming the Blade**

Battle Scar, Bar, and Onyx managed to find a slope on the side of the cliff that was just right for them to climb up. In just a few minutes, they hoisted Littlefoot, Aylene, and Chomper right up onto the top of the ridge, where they were greeted by the happy cheers and yells from their friends and family. Dripping wet, breathless, and shivering with cold, Littlefoot and Aylene ran over to the rest of the Gang and embraced their friends with relieved happiness.

"You guys are okay!" Cera laughed, not even caring that her friends were soaking wet.

"Yeah, we're fine." Littlefoot panted, trying to catch his breath. "But man, that was a close one."

"You're telling me." Aylene giggled nervously. "If it hadn't been for those Baryonyx, we would've been goners."

Meanwhile, Chomper ran over to his father and mother. They immediately bent down to his level and began to nuzzle him with love and affection.

**"Thank goodness you're alive, son."** Strongfang exhaled deeply. **"Are you hurt?"**

**"No, I'm fine, Daddy."** Chomper replied.

**"Thank goodness."** Rena smiled. She then gave her son a single motherly lick on his little cheek.

Battle Scar, Bar, and Onyx lifted themselves up onto the island and stood back. All three smiled as they saw the happy reunions of family and friends in front of them. There was just something heartwarming about the whole scene that they couldn't help but watch with gentleness in their eyes.

However, the three of them certainly weren't forgotten.

Aylene turned to Ducky and smiled brightly. The little swimmer smiled back and leapt into the human's arms.

"Oh, Ducky." Aylene said happily, hugging the swimmer. "I'm so glad you're okay. We were so worried about you. Where did you go?"

"Oh, I am sorry I worried you guys." Ducky said. "But Battle Scar and his pack found me. If it hadn't been for them, I wouldn't have found you guys."

Aylene turned to look up at the red Baryonyx. Battle Scar looked back at her with strong, kind eyes.

"Battle Scar," Aylene said, "thank you for saving Ducky. And thank you for saving us from that shark."

"You're welcome." Battle Scar nodded. "Your name is Aylene, right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I told him." Ducky explained.

Aylene simply nodded in understanding.

Everyone then felt the ground shake slightly underneath them. They all turned in the direction the tremors were coming from and saw Chomper walking up to them with his parents close behind. They stopped just a few yards away from the Gang. Strongfang and Rena turned their gaze down to the little Great Valley dinosaurs. At first, everyone except for Aylene became a little apprehensive. However, they could all see that both the T-rexs' eyes were soft with gratitude.

"My mommy and daddy want you to know that you are safe with them." Chomper said with a smile. "They want you to know that you have their protection."

The whole Gang smiled with joy and let out relieved breaths of air.

Aylene set Ducky down and got up from her place. She then walked over Strongfang and Rena and spoke in their language, so that only they could understand her.

**"And thank you for saving us,"** she said.** "I really don't know what else to say."**

**"Just thank you is fine."** Strongfang replied. **"And we thank you, you and your long-neck friend, for saving our son."**

**"Yes."** Rena bowed her head a little.** "We really can't thank you enough for doing that."**

**"We were happy to help."** Aylene said, her eyes bright and full of hope.

"What are they saying, Aylene?" Littlefoot asked as he walked up beside his human friend.

"They're thank us for saving Chomper." Aylene answered, turning to the Apatosaurus.

As soon as Aylene told Littlefoot that, both Strongfang and Rena bent down and nuzzled the two with affection, purring warmly like cats. At first, both Littlefoot and Aylene tensed up with uneasy awkwardness. Neither one had ever had a predatory dinosaur show this kind of friendliness towards them. It was usually hostility.

However, they just accepted the gratitude from the two adult T-Rexes. Aylene even went as far as to give them each a pat on the snout.

"You're welcome." Littlefoot said softly, still feeling a little awkward.

Strongfang and Rena eventually lifted their heads up and away from the long-neck and human. Chomper then ran up and hugged Littlefoot by the base of his neck. Littlefoot responded to the gesture by wrapping his neck around the little biter. Aylene smiled as she got down her knees and hugged both Littlefoot and Chomper. All three were just happy to be alive, and to be together.

Cera, who had been watching all of this, frowned and narrowed her eyes in deep thought. She was both confused, relived, and amazed. Within the space of a few hours today, she and her friends were rescued by a bunch of creatures that she had always seen as enemies. But these were like Chomper: they were different. They all fought to protect her friends. And now she had undeniable certainty that they were not enemies.

Cera let out a deep breath of air and walked up to Littlefoot, Chomper, and Aylene. When the three sensed her approaching, they released each other from their embrace and turned to look at her.

"Hey, Littlefoot," Cera said humbly. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I didn't mean what I said, I was just worried."

"I know," Littlefoot replied gently. "And I'm sorry for snapping at you and Petrie and Spike. I admit, I could've handled that better."

Cera gave a small smile.

"Um," Aylene interjected, "is this something I should know about?"

Littlefoot and Cera both looked at Aylene for a second with uncertain expressions. They then glanced at each other, as if trying to read the other's mind. Eventually, they both turned back to look to the human girl and shook their heads.

"No," they said in unison.

Aylene just blinked at that remark. She was curious as to what they were talking about about, but at the same time, she had a feeling that it was none of her business if the two of them had resolved it. So she just shrugged and dropped the subject, figuring that was for the best.

Cera then turned towards Chomper. Chomper shrunk back a little when she did, nervous about what she was going to say. However, much to his surprise, she looked at him straight in the eye, and her face was full of honesty.

"And I'm sorry to you, too, Chomper." Cera said with sincerity. "I was wrong about you. You and your folks might be different from us, but…your family. Just like our families."

Chomper blinked at that. His eyes widened and shimmered with touched hopefulness. He then gave a big grin.

"You really mean it, Cera?" he asked eagerly.

"Yeah, of course." Cera shrugged. "After all, our herd is a family, and you're part of it."

Chomper looked around at the other members of the Gang. They were all smiling at him and nodding their heads with assurance.

Chomper's grin got bigger and he ran up to hug Cera. Cera blinked uneasily as he did, glancing around at the others who were watching. Everyone looked at the scene and either giggled or chuckled a little. It was just too cute to see.

"Uh, yeah." Cera stammered. "Thanks, Chomper. But…could you please let go?"

Chomper just obeyed and let Cera go. However, he didn't stop beaming with happiness. Only now did he truly feel accepted as a member of the Gang.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Chomper saw Littlefoot lower his head. He turned towards his Apatosaurus friend and became concerned. Littlefoot's expression had changed from glad to melancholy, and there was a glint of hopelessness in his eyes.

"What's wrong, Littlefoot?" Chomper asked.

"It's just that," Littlefoot said slowly, his voice solemn, "I don't know if we'll ever see our families again. The land bridge was destroyed, and it's too far to swim back to the mainland."

At the mention of that, the whole Gangs' expressions fell and their hearts sank. They were so wrapped up in the action of the day that they had completely forgotten about their situation. They were stranded on this island, and they had no way of getting back to their families. And although they now knew that they were under the protection of fierce and mighty predators, they all knew deep down that it wasn't a replacement for their actual families.

"What we do now?" Petrie asked sadly. "We have no way of getting back."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, little flyer." Bar spoke up.

This made everyone turn to look at him. Bar continued.

"Savage Spine, the biter Strongfang and Rena fought off, wasn't here until today. That means he must've found another way onto this island."

At the sound of that, everyone perked up. Did that mean there was a second way off the island?

"Do you know where that path might be?" Aylene asked.

"Well," Battle Scar replied, "the one we took to get onto the island was off the shore of a beach. It's just around the island."

"Really?!" the whole Gang exclaimed with delight.

"Yes," Battle Scar nodded, "and we can take you back to your families."

"Oh, thank you, Battle Scar!" Ducky smiled joyfully. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

At the sound of a way home, Aylene stood up. Her willpower had returned and she was ready to get moving.

"Let's go," she said. "Just let me get my things first."

Aylene walked back to the bramble of bushes where her bag, bow, and quiver were stashed and put them back on herself. She paused for a moment when she suddenly remembered the sword she had found earlier. She turned toward the edge of the island and saw it resting in the same spot where she had left it. She ran over towards it. She stared at it for a moment before bending down and picking it up by the hilt.

For a while, she just stood where she was, gazing with admiration. Now that she wasn't in a dire situation, she could see the details of it that she had missed before more clearly. The hilt of the sword was made of stone and was shaped like a pyramid hexagon. At the end of the pommel was a pointed tooth, as white as ivory. Aylene's eyes widened a bit when she realized that it was a T-Rex tooth. That, mixed with the green meteorite blade, gave the sword and impression of ferocity and power.

The odd thing about it was that, for a sword that looked like it was made of heavy rock, it was remarkably light. It was just the right size and weight for Aylene to use. She gave it a few swipes, and the blade whistled as it cut through the air around it. When she was satisfied, she brought the flat of the blade up and rested it in her left hand.

The rest of the Gang, along with Chomper, came up behind her and looked at the weapon in her hand.

"Are you gonna keep it, Aylene?" Littlefoot asked. "After what it did for us earlier, I really think that you should."

"Yeah, I know." Aylene replied. "It might come in handy in the future, I just need to learn how to use it more. I've a feeling it's connected to my Time Stone."

As Littlefoot stared at the sword more closely, something struck his memory.

"Aylene, I just remembered," he said quickly, "while you were looking for Ducky, we found something. It's something you should see."

Aylene turned to her long-necked friend with curious eyes. She then turned to look at the others. Cera, Petrie, and Spike all nodded in agreement.

"Okay," Aylene replied. "Show me."

* * *

_A few minutes later…_

After Chomper led the Gang, his parents, and the Baryonyx to the Mystery Grounds, Aylene soon found herself staring with wide eyes at something she was not expecting to see, even in a million years.

It was a human encampment.

In the center of what looked like a large crater were many tents of different sizes. All of them were toppled over and barely standing. The fabric around them was so worn with age that Aylene couldn't tell what kind of nationality they had belonged to.

Scattered all across the grounds were various weapons and other objects related to them: swords, scabbards, swords inside their scabbards, hatchets, knifes, and bows and arrows.

As Strongfang, Rena, Battle Scar and his pack waited at the top of the hill, Aylene and her friends walked down in and among the encampment. The whole time they were wander around, Aylene's face was alive with wonder and amazement.

"I can't believe this," she whispered. "Humans really WERE here. That would explain why the vegetation here is plants from my world. And why I found this sword. But…how did this all get here?"

"I don't know." Cera said. "Must've been a long time ago, though. All this stuff looks old."

Aylene looked over to her right and saw something that caught her interest. Lying on the ground outside of a flattened tent was a scabbard with a belt attracted to it. Curious, Aylene walked over and knelt down to inspect it. The main body of the scabbard, as well as the belt, looked like they were made of something that resembled leather. However, the top and bottom of the scabbard were decorated with slim tips that looked like green meteorite.

Aylene stared at the scabbard for a second. She then looked over at the sword she had been carrying in her right hand. She glanced back and forth between the scabbard and her blade. They looked like they were about the same length.

"I wonder."

Finally, Aylene picked picked up the scabbard with her left hand. She then adjusted it so that the opening was facing the point of her sword. She slowly slid the blade into the scabbard, and much to her delight, it fit perfectly. With this, she could now carry the sword around her waist.

"Awesome," she grinned.

Aylene then stood up and strapped the sword around her waist so that it was now hanging on her left side. She looked down at it and smiled with a strange sense of pride that she had never felt before. A warm glow of empowerment and confidence seemed to shine out of her heart. Now that she had this weapon, she couldn't help but feel like a warrior who had just earned their title.

As she was thinking about warriors and weapons, an idea came through her head. She didn't know why she thought of it, but the moment she did, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

"Hey, guys." Aylene called. "Come over here for a second."

The whole Gang stopped what they were doing and walked over to where Aylene was.

"What is it, Aylene?" Ducky asked.

"I just had an idea." Aylene explained. "You see, in my world, when people used to receive swords, they would give them a name."

"They would name their swords?" Chomper questioned, cocking his head.

"Yeah, they would name it based on certain characteristics and attributes." Aylene went on. "And I think it would be cool if I named mine."

"I think that's a great idea." Littlefoot said with encouragement. "What are you going to name it?"

"I got one." Cera piped up with excitement. "How about Sharptooth Slayer? That's a cool name, don't you think?"

Aylene brought her hand up to her chin and gave a pensive look.

"Or how about Time Sword?" Ducky suggested. "I mean; it does look like your Time Stone."

Spike grunted, agreeing with his foster sister.

Aylene just continued to think. As she did, everyone began coming up with ideas.

"Or maybe Adventure Seeker?" Petrie said. "We always looking for adventure."

"How about Fierce Courage?" Chomper suggested. "Because that's what everyone needs when they stand up to fight for what they believe in."

"Or Fearless Loyalty." Littlefoot added. "Because a weapon can be used to defend those you care about."

At the sound of Chomper and Littlefoot's idea, Aylene suddenly perked up. A grin came across her face as a name came into her mind.

She knew exactly what to name the sword.

"I've got it," she said.

Everyone turned to look at her and watched as she drew her sword out of its scabbard. It slid out with a resounding "SHEEN" that echoed around the crater. Aylene then held it up high above her head, pointing the tip of the blade up to the sky above.

"Fierce Loyalty." Aylene declared. "That's what I'm going to call this sword. Because that is what we all have. It's what binds us together. All of us. And those we hold dear. No matter the odds, no matter how scared we might be, it's our fierce loyalty to each other that gives us courage to face our fears. And this sword will be a symbol of that. Whenever I use this, I'll always remember that."

Littlefoot, Chomper, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike all nodded. After a speech like that, there was no doubt that Fierce Loyalty was the perfect name for this sword. It was more than just a name for Aylene's sword alone, it was a symbol of their bonds of friendship. And it was those bonds of friendship that helped them get this far.

No matter what happened, or what would happen in the unforeseen future, they would face the world together.

Aylene then lowered the sword to the Gang's level. As if through some telepathic message, they all seemed to understand what she wanted to do. Reaching up with either their paw or hand, everyone touched the meteorite blade.

"This is our pact." Aylene said strongly. "Fierce Loyalty."


	22. Chapter 21: Family and Friends

**Family and Friends**

The sun was just a little past the midday point as the Gang, Chomper and his family, and the Baryonyx came upon a beach on the east side of the island. They were immediately greeted by the rest of Battle Scar's pack, who were relieved to see their leader and his companions alive and unharmed. They were also surprised to see that they were being followed by a group of small leaf-eater children with a human, as well as a family of T-Rexes.

After Battle Scar explained to them what had happened, the Gang once again found themselves being thanked and congratulated on their victory over Sharptooth by every member of the pack. Needless to say, this was very strange for them, as they didn't expect to be showered with this much attention by predatory dinosaurs. They were even approached by some of the younger ones and hatchlings of the pack just to be talked to.

After a while, Cera grew a little more comfortable and was beginning to show that she liked the attention. Littlefoot tried his best to be polite, but he wasn't quite used to all this praise being given to him and his friends all at once.

At some point, however, two things caught his attention. The first one was that out his peripheral vision, he saw that Aylene had walked away from the group with Strongfang. They were both speaking in predator, so he couldn't understand what they were saying. Not to mention, they were talking in low voices, so he doubted he could understand them anyway. But judging by the serious expressions on the human and T-Rex's face, Littlefoot could only guess that it was something important. Eventually, he saw Aylene nod in what looked like understanding and respond back in human-like growls and groans.

"Wonder what they're talking about," he whispered to himself.

Littlefoot then looked behind and saw that Chomper was standing some ways off from the group, almost on the edge of the forest they had just emerged from before. He also noticed that the little biter had a strange look on his face. He looked like he was thinking hard about something, but it was something that was making him feel sad, because his expression was one of confused distressed.

Littlefoot walked away from the group and over to the Chomper.

"Hey, something wrong, Chomper?"

"Huh?" Chomper replied, looking up at the long-neck.

"You looked like you were thinking about something." Littlefoot said. "I was just wondering if you were okay. Or if it was something you wanted to talk about."

Chomper hesitated. He turned his gaze downward and glanced off to the side, like he was uncomfortable with whatever was on his mind.

"If you don't want to talk about it, then that's okay." Littlefoot quickly responded when he sensed Chomper uneasiness. "But if you ever need someone to listen, I'll always lend an ear."

Chomper looked up at Littlefoot and gave a small forced smile.

"Thanks, Littlefoot," he said. "But I want to talk to my daddy first."

"Sure thing," the Apatosaurus nodded, smiling. "Well, c'mon, let's join the others."

As soon as Littlefoot and Chomper met up with the rest of the group, Battle Scar gave the command that they were going to go across the land bridge to the mainland. This land bridge was different than the one that the Gang had used to reach the Mysterious Island. This one was wider and a little more elevated. And instead of curving around to the mainland, it headed straight for it. It was a little rocky, but not as bad as the other one. It also looked more stable than the last one.

As soon as the whole pack was assembled, Battle Scar led the way while his pack followed closely behind, the Gang walked in the middle, and Chomper along with his family took up the rear. Littlefoot, Cera and Spike walked while Aylene rode on Littlefoot's back, Ducky rode on Spike, and Petrie flew just a few feet above the rest of the Gang.

As they walked on, the Gang couldn't help but look at the sparkling waves all around them. The waves on the surface rushed up the sides of the rocks, making each of them glisten and sparkled when the sunlight hit them. The blue sky reflected off the water in a deeper hue that gleamed with streaks of white as they rolled towards the closest shoreline. And the sound of the ocean was one of power and grace, and the clear salty air seemed to life everyone's spirits.

In about half hour, they reached a beach of the mainland. As soon as they did, Aylene turned to look back to the island and stared at it for a minute or two. It was hard to believe that so much had happened on that small mass of land. But as she reflected on it, she couldn't help but smile. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how amazing it was. Just on that island alone, she learned that she and the rest of the Gang had friends they didn't know about. Not only that, but Aylene also discovered a history about humans in this world she didn't know about.

It seemed that island really was mysterious in many ways.

"Go figure," she whispered to herself.

"You say something, Aylene?" Littlefoot asked.

"No, not really." Aylene replied calmly. "I was just thinking."

Just then, Battle Scar spoke up in a loud voice to get everyone's attention.

"Alright, everyone!" he said. "We're going to help these little ones find their families before we move on! As soon as you pick the scent of leaf-eaters, give a shout!"

The Baryonyx pack acknowledged the command and began to pick up the trail at once. As they did, Strongfang came forward to speak to Battle Scar.

**"This where my family and I have to say goodbye," **the large biter said.

**"Are you sure, Strongfang?"** Battle Scar asked in the voice of his native tongue. **"You can come with us if you want."**

**"Better not."** Strongfang shook his head. **"I'm not sure the Great Valley is ready to accept our kind. It would be best if my family and I kept moving from here."**

**"I understand."** Battle Scar replied. **"I wish you and your family the best of luck."**

**"And I wish the same best of luck to you and your pack."** Strongfang nodded. **"Thank you again for everything."**

With that said, Strongfang then turned back to the Gang and spoke to Aylene.

**"I thank you again, Aylene,"** he said. **"But I'm afraid this is where we must part ways for a while."**

Aylene didn't protest. She just nodded in understanding.

"What did he say, Aylene?" Cera asked.

"It's time for Chomper and his family to be moving on." Aylene explained.

Chomper came up to the Gang with a sad look on his face. It was clear to see that he didn't want to leave his friends, not after he had just gotten them back.

"Will I ever see you guys again?" he asked.

Littlefoot was the first to respond to that question.

"Of course you will," the long-neck smiled. "You're a part of our herd. I know we'll meet again. And we'll always be your friends."

"Yeah, Chomper." Cera nodded. "Always."

Chomper lifted his face and smiled at the Gang. The whole group then shared a huge hug, silently saying farewell. When that was done, Chomper ran up to his father and mother, and they began to make their way across the beach. As they walked away, the Gang called out their goodbyes and Aylene, Ducky, and Petrie all waved to the family of T-Rexes.

"Bye, Chomper!"

"Hope to see you soon!"

"Thanks for everything!"

"Good luck out there!"

"We'll miss you!"

In reponse, Chomper turned back briefly to wave goodbye.

"Bye-bye!" he called. "See ya! So long!"

Aylene then changed her dialect to speak to Strongfang and Rena.

**"And thanks for everything, Strongfang and Rena! Safe travels!"**

Strongfang and Rena looked back at the little human and nodded in response.

With that, Chomper and his family walked over the sand dunes of the beach and disappeared.

"We'll see them again someday." Aylene said softly. "I know we will."

Shortly after she said that, a Baryonyx suddenly shouted out that they had picked up the trail of a herd of leaf-eaters.

* * *

Derek sighed heavily as he sat down on the edge of a small river that flowed out to the ocean. After walking for a morning and most of the afternoon, he and the rest of the Great Valley dinosaurs were very exhausted. And the ones who had members of their family missing were very worried, and some were even disheartened. Even though they had managed to find a place that was abundant with food and fresh water, they couldn't really enjoy it. Not with the knowledge that their young ones were gone and they still hadn't been found yet.

As strong as Derek was trying to be, he couldn't shake away the depressing feeling that something had happened to his sister. He kept reminding himself that Aylene had made it through tougher situations before and had made it back in one piece, but that was just a small comforting thought.

Still, he forced himself to not think of the worst case scenario. He just couldn't afford to think that way.

His thinking was interrupted when he heard Topps speak up to the other grown ups who were talking nearby.

"So what if we've found enough food to last us for years?" he said, sounding like he was trying to hold back his sadness and mask it with frustration. "Who cares? If we don't have our kids, what's the point?

Grandpa Longneck sighed heavily.

"For once I have to agree with you," he said despondingly.

"We've got to have faith." Grandma Longneck said with forced encouragement. "I know the children will find us. Somehow."

Derek turned his head to look at the female Apatosaurus. Although her words meant to lift the spirits of everyone around them, even he could tell in her face that she didn't quite believe them. Everyone was starting to lose faith at this point, there was no denying that.

Finally, Derek took a deep breath and stood up. He had to at least try to raise moral.

"We can't give up," he said, walking over to the group. "I know my sister. And I know her friends, too. They've managed to survive on their own in the wilderness before, and they managed to defeat countless predators, one of them being Sharptooth himself. I just know they'll find a way to get back to us."

Topps was about to say something in response to that, when Kosh suddenly came running up over a grassy green hill.

"Biters!" he shouted with urgency. "They're heading this way!"

At the sound of that, everyone became fully alert. Derek immediately grabbed his bow off his shoulder and ran up the hill. Being small and having longer legs than most of the dinosaurs, he was the first one to get to the top. There, he stopped and inhaled sharply when he saw a large pack of crocodile-like biters quickly approaching. Derek swallowed hard and reached for a bow in his quiver. Judging from the distance they were compared to the others, he guessed that they would be close enough for him to shoot them in just a few seconds.

He quickly drew back the arrow on his bow took aim at the reddish biter with the scar on its snout.

"DEREK, DON'T SHOOT!" a familiar voice suddenly shrieked.

Derek immediately stopped. He knew that voice all too well.

A second later, to his dumbfounded surprise, Aylene and her friends came running out from among the feet of the Baryonyx pack.

"What the-!" Derek stared, unable to finish his sentence.

"It's okay!" Aylene shouted from where she was. "They're friends!"

Derek gave a look of stunned surprise. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be happy to see his sister, or shocked at the fact she's traveling with a group of biters that showed no intention on eating them.

And he wasn't the only one feeling that way. As soon as the adults reached the top of the hill and saw what was going on, they all just stopped and stared at the sight before them. They're young ones were alive, safe, and walking among a large pack of biters.

The Gang didn't seem to care about that though. They were too happy to see their families that they immediately raced away from Battle Scar and his pack and up the hill. It was only after they reached the rest of the Great Valley herd that the adults snapped out of their trances.

Aylene almost glomped her brother, who hugged her tightly with sibling relief. Littlefoot was lovingly nuzzled by his grandparents, Cera and her father rubbed their nose horns together, Petrie flew straight into his mother's arms, and Ducky and Spike were embraced by Ducky's mother.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Grandma Longneck exclaimed happily. "You're all safe!"

"Yeah, somehow." Littlefoot smiled.

"But how did you do it?" Derek asked. "And…what's up with those guys?"

The human pointed to the Baryonyx pack, who had all stopped at the foot off the hill.

"Oh," Aylene said, "Derek, everyone, this is Battle Scar and his pack. And don't worry, they're friends."

"It's true." Cera spoke up. "They saved out lives."

All the adults blinked. They certainly weren't expecting this at all.

Grandpa Longneck was the first one to remember his manners and quickly straightened himself.

"Well, whoever you are," he said to the Battle Scar. "You have our thanks for saving our young ones."

"It was our pleasure, long-neck." Battle Scar replied with a bow.

"Whoa! He talks!" Kosh exclaimed.

Battle Scar gave a chuckle.

"It's okay, we get that a lot," he explained. "Our pack has followed many leaf-eating herds to different water holes for us to fish in. So we picked up on your language."

"That's awesome." Aylene said.

"Well," Battle Scar let out a deep breath of air, "it's time for us to get moving again."

"You sure you don't want to stay a while?" Ducky asked, sounding sad. "You could stay the night."

"Don't worry, little swimmer." Battle Scar smiled. "We'll meet again someday. In the meantime, I wish you all a safe journey. And I thank you and your friends for saving my pack long ago. I'm glad that I could return the favor today."

"What's he talking about?" Derek asked.

"I'll explain later." Aylene said to her brother before turning back to the Baryonyx. "Thank you, Battle Scar. Thank you all."

The pack all expressed their appreciation at the human's compliment.

"Well, we'll be on our way now." Battle Scar said. "Until we meet again."

"I hope that's soon." Littlefoot replied.

With that, Battle Scar led his pack away from the Great Valley herd. As they left, Littlefoot, Aylene, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike all wished them farewell in their own little ways.

"Bye, everyone!"

"Thanks for everything!"

"Come back soon!"

In a few minutes, the pack of Baryonyx had vanished on the horizon.

The Gang then turned their attention back to the adults, who were all looking at them with disbelief. The little group of six exchanged glances, like they were silently drawing invisible straws about who would speak first.

Finally, Littlefoot stepped forward with an apologetic expression on his face.

"We're sorry for the trouble we caused," he said to everyone. "We just wanted wanted to find enough food so that we could all stay together."

Upon hearing that explanation, much to the Gang's surprise, the grown-ups' expressions all softened.

"Well, I think you succeeded." Grandpa Longneck said with a proud smile.

"Really?" Aylene widened her eyes.

"Well, yeah." Derek grinned. "I mean, if you hadn't run off, we wouldn't have gone looking for you."

"And if we hadn't been looking for your children," Grandma Longneck added, "we never would've found this beautiful place."

Grandma Longneck gestured with her head towards the whole landscape around them. The whole Gang stared with awe and wonder. It was like a miniature version of the Great Valley on the edge of the sea. The whole landscape was green with large clusters of trees scattered across it. A large river that was flowing out to the sea was crystal clear, and it wove through the land with graceful loops and bends.

"There's enough food here for everyone." Topps said contently. "At least until the Great Valley is green again."

"So we not have to split up?" Petrie asked hopefully.

"We sure don't." Grandpa Longneck replied, shaking his head with certainty.

At the sound of their victory, the whole Gang erupted with cheers and jumped for joy. Once again, they had managed to win. Against all odds, they had won and made it back.

It was then that Derek noticed something. His eyes widened in shock when he looked at his sister's waist.

"Aylene," he said stiffly, "where'd you get that sword?"

Aylene stopped her celebration and looked down at the new weapon around her waist.

"Oh," she grinned weakly and rubbed the back of her head, "that's a long story. Um, can I talk to you in private?"

"Sure." Derek replied slowly.

* * *

The sun began to set as Aylene finished telling her story to Derek. They were both sitting on a cluster of rocks that were on the edge of the ocean. The water lapped up on the stones below them, and white sea foam splashed lightly up into the air.

Aylene told Derek everything. From the Megalodon attack, to meeting up with Chomper and his family again, to Battle Scar, to Savage Spine, to the human encampment on the Mysterious Island and her new sword. The whole time, Derek listened intently, wanting to soak up every detail his sister was telling him.

When she had finished, Derek was memorized.

"So other humans lived on that island?" he questioned.

"Apparently." Aylene replied. "And whoever they were, it looks like they made weapons that were of the same material as the Time Stone. They both reacted when Savage Spine attacked, and they put a shield around me and Littlefoot."

"That's cool. But where do you suppose they came from?"

"I don't know." Aylene shook her head. "It certainly is a mystery."

"Heh," Derek chuckled, "wouldn't it be funny if that was the lost island of Atlantis?"

Aylene giggled at the suggestion.

"Yeah, that would be pretty funny," she admitted.

However, another thought quickly crossed Aylene's mind, and she slowly frowned. Derek noticed her change of emotion and immediately knew that something was wrong.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's about Chomper." Aylene said in a low voice. "When I was talking to Strongfang, I discovered something important. The reason why Sharptooth went crazy was because he had a rare disorder called Predator Rage. It basically heightened his sense, but made him lose his sense of self in the process. It now makes me think that maybe things could've been different."

"Like if you tried to help Sharptooth instead of knocking him off?"

Aylene groaned.

"C'mon, Sis," Derek said, "you know that Sharptooth was too far gone. And from what Strongfang told you, I don't think he would even want help. And in that situation, it was either you or him."

"Strongfang said something like that, too." Aylene replied.

"Then he was right. But what does this have to do with Chomper?"

Aylene bit her lip for a moment.

"Apparently, Chomper has Predator Rage, too," she explained. "I know because I saw his eyes go bloodshot and he got more aggressive." Aylene's expression then turned pensive. "But now that I think about it, he was a little different than Sharptooth. At least Chomper still retained a small sense of self. And when his was triggered, he was trying to protect someone. Strongfang did tell me that this condition is triggered by different things for different biters. He said for Sharptooth it was the thrill of the hunt."

"Maybe for Chomper it's his instinct to protect." Derek suggested. "After all, based on what you've told me, he does seem to be the protective type."

"Yeah, maybe."

Aylene then smiled softly. Although she wasn't too happy that Chomper had this condition, the thought that it was triggered by Chomper's desire to protect those he cares about seemed to ring well with her. It just seemed to prove even more that he was different from other biters.

She then gave a concerned expression.

"Derek," Aylene suddenly said, "can I tell you something? And will you promise not to tell the other grown ups?"

"Depends on what it is?" Derek replied.

Aylene looked around to make sure she and her brother were alone. She then moved closer so that she could speak to him in a low voice.

"Well, before we left the island," Aylene explained, "I spoke with Strongfang. He told me that Chomper has been hunted by other biters because of his lineage to Sharptooth. He also told me that things are starting to get too dangerous for Chomper out here. So he made me promise something. He asked me to take care of Chomper if the time ever came for him to come to the Great Valley for a while. I promised him I would."

"I see." Derek replied in a low voice.

"The thing is I don't know how we're going to tell the grown ups about Chomper." Aylene said. "As far as they know, he doesn't even exist. And I promised Strongfang that I would keep Chomper's lineage a secret. I haven't even told my friends about it."

"You sure make a lot of promises, Sis." Derek frowned. "But we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let's enjoy the time that we have. Since the herd's not going anywhere for a while, we'll head back home tonight to resupply and get some rest."

"Okay." Aylene nodded.

Then Aylene gave a small grin.

"So much happened today," she said.

"How so?" Derek asked, looking at her.

"Well," Aylene shrugged, "I realized that predators have a culture of their own, and that humans who had been here before somehow learned to harness the power of the Time Stone. Derek, there's so much out there for us to learn. And I want to learn it all. I want to know more about his world."

"Yeah, me too." Derek smirked. "And who knows, there might be more mysteries out there just waiting to be solved."

For a while, the two just sat in silence, looking out over the sun setting behind the horizon of ocean water. The sea wind gently blew past them, gently ruffling their hair, and they breathed it in with deep inhales. Neither one had to speak to know what they were both thinking.

This world was both a mystery, strange, but also amazing. There was no doubt about that.


	23. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The moon had begun to shine high as Strongfang, Rena, and Chomper settled down for the night. They had traveled miles away from the ocean and were now in a rocky plain. During that time, Strongfang managed to find some small prey in the area and caught it for his family. However, while Strongfang and Rena ate it, Chomper avoided it and munched on a mound of ground-crawlers he had found nearby. The whole time, he had this look of pensive distress on his face.

There was definitely something on his mind.

Finally, after Strongfang and Rena finished their meal, but both walked over to their son and laid down beside him.

"Is something wrong, son?" Strongfang asked.

For a moment, Chomper didn't answer. He just stared at the ground in front of him. Then after a moment of silence, he turned his gaze up and looked at his father.

"Daddy," he said, "I…I heard that mean biter said to you today."

Strongfang stiffened.

"He…" Chomper continued slowly, sounding worried. "He said you were Sharptooth's brother. Is that true?"

Strongfang looked at Rena, who looked back at him with concern. Chomper stood where he was, waiting for an answer.

At last, Strongfang let out a deep sigh that caused the dirt and small pebbles below his mouth to blow away.

"Chomper," he said in a deep voice, "I think it's time you knew the truth. But remember this: your mother and I didn't keep this from you because we didn't trust you. We were waiting until you were old enough to handle it. But I promise, we were going to tell you when the time was right. And I think it's now."

"Okay." Chomper whimpered. "I understand."

Chomper sat down as his parents began to tell him the story of Sharptooth. His eyes remained wide with both shock the whole time.

Strongfang and Rena told Chomper everything. He told him about how he and Sharptooth were brothers, how he came to be known as the Walking Terror among both leaf-eaters and biters, and how Chomper's Great Valley friends defeated him. And with great care, they even told him about how his friends saved his life twice.

"Twice?" Chomper questioned. "You mean when they found me as an egg and when they saved me from drowning?"

"No, not exactly." Rena replied softly. "Please try to understand, Sharptooth had mad. And he…"

Rena looked at her mate for help. Strongfang hesitated as he searched for the right words to say.

"After Sharptooth and I fought for the last time," the male T-Rex explained softly, "he vowed that one day he would return and destroy my family."

Chomper gasped in horror. He knew what that meant. Sharptooth was going to come back and kill him and his family.

"But my friends…" he said, his voice weak with fright.

"Yes." Strongfang nodded. "Because of them, you were saved. To think they would save you twice and not even know."

"Hang on," Chomper said quickly, "if you're Sharptooth's brother then…" the little biter's eyes widened immensely. "Then that would make me…"

Chomper might have really young, but even he could make this connection on his own.

Strongfang and Rena saw it, too. They knew he had figured it out.

"Yes, Chomper." Strongfang whispered. "You're his nephew. I'm sorry."

Chomper was stunned. All this time, he was related the most vicious predator that had ever roamed the land. Not only that, but he also remembered what Littlefoot had told him about Sharptooth killing his mother, and how that T-Rex had hunted the Littlefoot, Aylene, and the others all the way to the Valley.

That meant that he was related to the same predator who had tried to kill his best friends in the whole world.

This was so much for Chomper to take in that he began to shiver. And tears began to well up in his eyes. He didn't want to cry, but he couldn't contain this horrible feeling.

Strongfang frowned when he saw his son in this state and gently nuzzled him. Chomper welcomed his father's comfort and rubbed his face against his father's snout.

"I'm sorry, Chomper," the male biter said solemnly. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way. And I wish it was different."

"It's alright, Daddy." Chomper replied. "I understand. And I do appreciate you telling me the truth."

Strongfang slowly pulled away so that he could look his son in the eye.

"But Chomper," he said, "please keep this to yourself. For your own protection."

"So I can't tell my friends?" Chomper said innocently.

"Only your human friend, Aylene, knows about it." Strongfang replied. "And from what she had told me, she hasn't told her friends either. For now, it would be best if you keep it to yourself. Can you promise me that?"

"Yes, Daddy." Chomper replied sadly.

At the mention of his friends, another thought crossed Chomper's mind. He remembered the events that happened earlier that day.

"Mommy, Daddy," he said slowly, "my friends are in danger. That biter today was after them. He wanted them so that he could be what Sharptooth was."

Strongfang and Rena stared at their son. He had a different look about him now. He had stopped shivering, and his fear seemed to have been replaced with a caring worry for his friends.

Chomper could never forget that Savage Spine had singled Littlefoot out when they were both in the forest. He could still see that look of fear on his friend's face, and the sound of terror in his voice when he cried for help. He could also never forget the feeling he had when Littlefoot was scared. He had forgotten his own fear. Instead, he had the deep desire to protect. To stand up and fight back for those closest to him.

That feeling of courage was what made him strong.

And now, he was feeling it all over again.

Chomper looked up at his parents with a determined smile.

"I want to protect them," he declared. "They save me, and now I want to save them. I want to become strong so that I can help them. And I want to change this world, too. If Sharptooth messed things up, then I guess it's my job to make it right again. And I know I can. Me and my friends. I know that together we can change this world for the better. We can make it place where leaf-eaters and meat-eaters and live together in harmony."

Strongfang and Rena blinked. They certainly weren't expecting this from such a small child. Instead of being despondent about learning of his horrible lineage, Chomper seemed to have turned the situation around completely. He learned about his past, but he now had a dream to do something about it. Although that dream seemed to be rather large and impossible, it was still amazing to see Chomper handle the situation so well. And that goal he had stated showed in his eyes that he was filled with strength. But this strength wasn't for himself, it was for his family and friends.

This little T-Rex was really something remarkable.

Both Strongfang and Rena smiled and nodded at their son and nuzzled him affectionately.

"Then you strive for that dream, sweetie." Rena whispered.

"Yes." Strongfang replied in the same voice. "As long as you have that dream, you'll have something to live for. Never forget that. And never forget who you are."

"I won't." Chomper promised. "And someday, this world will be a better place. I just know it."

* * *

**And with that, "The Mysterious Island Retold" is now completed.**

**As an added bonus, I will be adding an author's note to this story. Take a look at it.**


	24. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

With this fifth instalment of my "Land Before Time Retold" series completed, I guess this would be considered something of a milestone. To celebrate the completion of five stories, I would like to take this opportunity to say a few things.

First off, I guess you are wondering how this series came about in the first place. Well, I would have to say it was the nostalgia of my childhood. I remember when I was younger, I used to pretend that I was in movies whenever I watched them. My most vivid memories of pretending to be in the story of the movie were of the "Land Before Time" series. I absolutely loved that series as a kid. However, I only saw the movies 1 – 7 before I became a teenager.

Sadly, when I reached my teenaged years, I started to drift away from the series. Worst, I followed the crowd that said there were "too many sequels", and started to have a negative outlook on the series. I even got embarrassed at just the very mention of the movies, or even dinosaurs. Now that was just pitiful of me.

However, that all changed during my freshman year of college.

One night, after being so stressed from finals and writing papers, I got the idea of going back and watching some movies I haven't seen in a while. And the first movie that came into my head was "Land Before Time: Journey Through the Mists". Although I had some vague memories of that movie, I had forgotten some of it.

But man, am I glad I decided to go back and watch it.

The nostalgia was glorious. I loved it.

After that, I went back and watched all of the movies. I soon realized that it was foolish of me to just pass the series off as just something for kids. They actually touch upon some themes that are really powerful. And another thing I love about the series is that heart of the series is family, friendship, and doing the right thing. Not to mention, I love the characters. They all have their differences, they balance each other as a group, and each have their own development and growth as characters over the series.

The series was very refreshing and I'm glad I got back into it. And especially after reading so much heavy and depressing literature for four months, it was great to turn to something hopeful and uplifting.

After my freshman year of college, I started to wonder what the series would be like if a human was introduced into this world. It was something that I had always been curious about. And I suspected that a lot of other people did, too. So simply out of the sake of curiosity and my own enjoyment, I decided to make a story of my own with that idea. Essentially what I did was that I just took the vague memories of my childhood playacting, made a few modifications, and incorporated them into the first story. Now, I didn't expect this story to get a lot of attention, as I figured that the fanbase of this series was relatively small. I only expected to get maybe ten or so reviews.

Boy, was I in for a surprise. I soon realized just how big this fanbase really was.

By the time I was half-way done with the first Retold story, I had over a hundred reviews, and I quickly noticed that it was gaining popularity. This was something I wasn't intending on.

Fortunately, this inspired me to continue on with the series. And the more I continued with it, the more I wanted to develop it. I wanted to add my own lore to the series, while also keeping true to the original intention of the series that Lucas, Spielberg, and Bluth had created in the beginning.

So that's how much of what you see so far came about.

For example, Chomper's lineage was something I had in mind since the end of the of the first story. I wanted to explore an "ironic twist of fate" idea in which Chomper was Sharptooth's nephew. One of the reasons I did this was because, well, he's one of my top ten favorite characters (also in the top five). But also because I loved the idea of someone who is the Gang's closest friend and ally, is actually related to the same T-Rex that had tried to kill them in the first movie. However, Chomper's desire to never become like his uncle, and to create a new era of peace, is what separates him from Sharptooth.

And while Sharptooth isn't around in a physical sense, his tyranny has still stained the land, and will continue to follow our heroes throughout the series. So in a way, Sharptooth is still the central antagonist, even in death. And it's his past actions that really drive this story, at least a subplot of it.

As for the Predator Rage, the idea came later in the series when I realized that carnivores in this world have just as much of a culture of their own as the herbivores did. It got me curious as to what their culture would be like. Why was becoming the "Walking Terror" something that many carnivores would want to obtain? What made Sharptooth such a killer in the first place that he was feared by those of his own kind as well? I didn't just want to make Sharptooth two-dimensional. And by adding this element, it made him an even more tragic character, thus making him more interesting than just some mindless killer.

And with Chomper having Predator Rage as well, kind of symbolic to show that he has the similar attributes to his uncle, only he uses his skills to fight for the ones he cares about, not to dominate or exert his power over others.

As for my OCs, I'm very glad that they have been very well received.

Aylene's journey and character growth has been very enjoyable to work with. She may have started out as just a vehicle for recapturing my childhood, but over time, she grew into a character of her own. And that is very satisfying to see. It was great to see her grow into the person she is now: brave, strong, protective, and compassionate. Sure, she's a bit naïve, but hey, she's only fourteen. And that just gives her more room for character development. After all, she's gotta have flaws to be a well-rounded character. ;)

And what's great is that she will continue to grow, just like her friends.

However, I think my most successful character is Derek. The reason I say that is because he started out as an overbearing older brother that nobody wanted to see return. But during the course of the third story, he became a character that people wanted to see return. And while I was sad that Derek couldn't be a main character in the fourth story, it was nice to see that you, the readers, wanted to see him return later and that you had grown to care for him. And rest assured, Derek will be in many more stories to come.

As for Ken, I wanted to create a character like him for many reasons. One, that whole thing of an equal/opposite character of Aylene. He's "equal" in that he has a Time Stone, has knowledge of this world, and his best friends with an Apatosaurus, just like Aylene. And he's "opposite" in that he's a boy, the herd he's associated with is migrating instead of living in one place, and he only has one best friend in the herd. But like Aylene, he grew into a character of his own.

The other reason was that I wanted to show that there are other Time Stone users out there. And that opens up another mystery for our characters to solve.

And bonus fact about Ken. I based his name off of Kenneth Mars, the late voice-actor for Grandpa Longneck. (Rest in peace Kenneth Mars and John Ingles).

And who knows, Ken and Ali just might get a story of their own. That's a strong possibility anyway. ;)

Last of all, Battle Scar and his pack, which are technically half-OCs and half-FCs. They are actually the Baryonyx antagonists from the thirteenth movie, "Wisdom of Friends". However, I made them secondary protagonists for a few reasons. One, I found out that Baryonyx were actually fish-eating dinosaurs. That gave me the idea of exploring other predatory dinosaurs in that world that weren't evil or out for revenge.

The second chose them was because I'll be omitting some stories from the original movie series. The ones I have confirmed on omitting are the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth. However, there are some characters from those movies I wanted to save, and Battle Scar was one of them. Originally, he was going to be antagonistic and was going to come later, but I decided to make him a secondary protagonist instead and introduce him in this story. I'm really glad I decided to do that, because he and his pack are going to play some major roles in later stories.

As for the Time Stone and that settlement on the island, there are many more mysteries to come. All I can say is that Aylene has only scratched the surface of what this stone is capable of doing. She and her friends have just started discovering the secrets of the Time Stones and their connection to this world. Some secrets are small, but there are some big ones. You'll just have to wait and see what happens. ;)

As for other twists and turns in the story, there's more of those to come as well.

And last, but certainly not least, I want to sincerely thank all of you for coming along on this adventure with me. You've all been very supportive, gave me great feedback in your reviews, and were very patient when I became slow on updates. I've had a lot of fun creating this story, and it wouldn't have been possible without all of you. If it wasn't for all of your views, support, feedback, and reviews, I wouldn't have gotten this far. I'm really happy I could create a story that could connect to readers. That is the greatest success that I could have as a writer. And thanks to all of you, I have confidence that I will become a successful writer when I publish my own book series someday.

Thank you all very much for coming along! :D

As a bonus, I've got some questions for you guys. This is so I can continue to write better in the future, and give me some things to consider that might help this series.

1\. What is your favorite story/stories so far and why? (Pick two at most)

2\. Who are your top ten favorite characters and why?

3\. Who is your favorite character overall and why?

4\. What do you feel is my greatest strength in terms of writing?

5\. What do you feel is an area I need to work on the most?

Again, thank you all for everything! :D

Now stay tuned for more of "Land Before Time Retold". This story is far from over. ;)

Stay tuned for the next installment, "Secret of Saurus Rock Retold".

Oh, one more thing. I want to thank MaggieHeartsLove for making the cover of the story for me. Thanks a million. :)

I hope to continue to entertain you all, and I hope that you will continue to come along on this journey.

Have a Good Day! :D


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